Team Tragedy
by ElderxChildx6
Summary: Naruto, the outcast of the village. Sasuke, the last Uchiha. Len, a mysterious girl from the Hatake Clan, and niece to Kakashi Hatake. A team surrounded by tragedies. So no one was really surprised when things started going horribly wrong. ((SasukexLen. Also contains NarutoxHinata, and KakashixAnko/Updates are currently RANDOM until further notice/Found image on google))
1. Prologue

**Team Tragedy**

 **A Naruto Fanfiction**

 **Author: ElderxChildx6, Co-Author/Editor: EDelta88**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. All rights reserved.**

 **Team Tragedy (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

 **Len Hatake (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

* * *

 **Prologue**

Kakashi sighed as he made his way through the streets of Konohagakure. Making his way back to his house after having completed his latest mission. Reading one of Jiraiya's many R-rated books as he walked. He had originally planned to go to his older brother's house after his mission to spend time with his niece and nephew. However the mission took longer than he had originally anticipated. It was night when he finally returned, and he knew that his niece would be asleep. And if his niece was already asleep, Kakashi knew that his nephew would either be sleeping, as well, or he would be out continuing his training.

"No point in going over there, now," Kakashi told himself as he turned the page to continue reading. "That's a fight I would rather avoid."

Kakashi and his older brother, Kojaku, never were able to see eye-to-eye, even after they grew up. Their mother had died giving birth to Kakashi, which made Kojaku hold a grudge against his younger brother. Blaming Kakashi for their mother's death. After their father died close to the end of the Second Shinobi World War, Kakashi even broke their father's chakra blade, the White Sabre. Kojaku and Kakashi had never fought for so long before and even after that day. Kojaku even kept the shards of the broken blade with the intention to one day fix it, but no matter how hard he tried, he never could. To this day, Kojaku still has the broken chakra blade. Still hoping to fix it.

After Kojaku and his wife, Keihaku, had their oldest son, Animaru, Kojaku and Kakashi agreed to not fight around Animaru, or any of Kojaku's future children, should they ever have more. So the tension between Kojaku and Kakashi was able to be put on pause around Animaru, and then Len when she was born nine years later. Kakashi enjoyed the short peace he could get when his niece and nephew were around to prevent his brother from fighting with him, since it was always Kojaku who seemed to start most of the fights they'd get into.

 _Animaru..._ That boy was a prodigy. Though it took him a little longer than it did Kakashi, Animaru was able to go from Ninja Academy Student to joining the ANBU Black Ops in a matter of four years. Graduating from the academy and passing to Genin at age ten, then passing to become Chunin at age eleven, advancing to Special Jonin at age twelve, advancing to Jonin at age thirteen, and finally joining the ANBU units at age fourteen; just last year. Most of the Hatake clan believed that Animaru was the new favorite to their guardian spirit, the White Phoenix. The ones who believed in the spirit's existence thought so, anyway. The select few who didn't believe in the spirit amongst the clan simply believed that Animaru had gained the Kekkei Genkai of their clan. Animaru, himself, preached differently.

When asked Animaru claimed that he did not have the Hatake clan Kekkei Genkai, and though he did believe in the White Phoenix, he did not believe that their guardian was watching over him or even picked him as his favorite. He simply believed that it was his hard work and constant training that got him to where he was, today. If the Phoenix was watching over him, it clearly did not go to his head like it had Kojaku and Kakashi's father, Sakumo.

Sakumo had been what most of the clan would call the spirit's last favorite, before they started to believe Animaru was in the spirit's favor. Sakumo had believed he was the favorite to the guardian spirit so much, it had cost him the mission he was supposed to do. Sakumo was supposed to assassinate one of the enemy's leaders close to the end of the Second Shinobi War. However during the mission, his fellow teammates had been captured because they had been careless. Sakumo, believing the Phoenix would allow him the speed to do both, saved his squad members. This act cost him the mission, and believing that he had fallen out of the spirit's favor, Sakumo took his own life.

It was because of this that Kakashi stopped believing in the guardian spirit. If Sakumo had been the spirit's favorite, why would it allow Sakumo to fail the mission he was on? Close to the beginning of the Second Shinobi War, Sakumo had prevented the enemy from advancing past the checkpoint they had taken by himself for three days while his squad members went back for reinforcements. If Sakumo could do that, why couldn't he complete a simple mission and save his teammates at the exact same time?

As Kakashi continued on his way home, a memory flashed through his head.

 **Flashback**

 _"Uncle Kakashi!" Animaru called as he rushed over to the silver-haired ANBU. Hearing his nephew call his name made Kakashi turn to look at him. As soon as Animaru got to his uncle, he continued. "I need to talk to you."_

 _"Animaru, I'm about to go on a mission," Kakashi informed the silver-haired teen._

 _"I know, I know," Animaru said in a rush, "I'll wait until you get back, but just know it's really important. It's about Len. So make sure you hurry back from your mission as fast as you can. If I'm not at home, just ask mother or father where I went. I should be training if I'm not at home."_

 _Kakashi nodded. "Alright, Animaru. I'll try and make it back as soon as I can."_

 **End of Flashback**

 _That's right,_ Kakashi thought as he snapped his book closed and put it away. _Animaru had something he wanted to tell me about Len. Might as well make my way over there and see what it is._

As Kakashi walked closer to his destination, however, he saw a glow of light off in the distance. Eventually, he could also smell smoke. At first, Kakashi really didn't think anything of it. He simply thought there was someone out late cooking outside. But as Kakashi drew closer to the Hatake clan compound, he started to feel heat. Like something was burning intensely. Once the compound came into view down the street, Kakashi's uncovered onyx eye widened in horror.

Flames. The entire Hatake clan compound was consumed in a massive fire that burned brightly against the dark night. He could feel the heat of the flames from where he was standing, and he was a good ten meters away from the fiery mass. At the sight of it, Kakashi only had four things on his mind. His immediate family.

Just as Kakashi was about to charge into the burning mass to look for them, a familiar voice stopped him.

"It is futile, Kakashi," Sarutobi's voice broke through the sound of the crackling flames. Making Kakashi pause and turn to look at the old man who was now standing behind him. The Third Hokage seeming to appear from out of nowhere. "Your fellow clan members are dead, including Kojaku and Keihaku."

"What about Len and Animaru?!" Kakashi demanded. Almost in panic. "Are they alright?"

Sarutobi closed his eyes and faced the ground. His expression appeared saddened. "Len is not doing too well," he began. "She has severe burns running her entire body. Naruto told me shortly after he had taken her to the hospital. He found her just outside his house not too long ago.

"As for Animaru" the Sandaime went on, opening his old eyes to look at the silver-haired ANBU standing before him, "well...I can explain later. Focus on Len, for now. We can discuss the details about Animaru when you have seen her and are more calm."

"Which hospital is she in?!" Kakashi demanded. Practically shouting at the Third Hokage.

"Naruto took her to the hospital two blocks west and one block to the south of here to get her injuries treated," Sarutobi answered. "I'll tell you now, your niece looks pretty bad. I suggest staying in Konoha for a while so that way you can be with her and help her to recover."

Kakashi nodded before he raced past the Hokage to the hospital. He didn't need to be told twice. As he rushed off to the hospital, he saw a few ANBU units head towards the direction of his clan's compound.

* * *

"Please try not to stress her out or excite her in any way, Mister Hatake," the nurse told him as they stood in front of Len's hospital room door. "She's already worked herself up quite enough, this evening."

Kakashi gave the nurse a droll and incredibly impatient stare. _Mister? What am I? My father?_ "I'll try to keep her as calm as possible," Kakashi assured her. "But I'm warning you all, now, I'm not leaving except to go look for a new house, tomorrow. This means I will be spending the night here, until she recovers."

"But... Mr. Hatake... The visiting hours-We're not-"

"You can try to tell me otherwise all you like, miss," Kakashi interrupted. Glaring down at the nurse. "My entire clan has been murdered and my house has gone up in flames. Like it or not, I have nowhere else to go. Len is the only family I have left. That means I am not leaving her side until she has recovered, except for to find a new house for us to live in. Surely you all can make an exception, hm?" he suggested, even as the tone of his voice implied that it was in fact an order and that he would be staying whether they liked it or not.

With that, Kakashi slid the door to Len's hospital room open, stepped inside, and slid the door shut behind him before the nurse could say another word. Kakashi slowly made his way into the room, and once Len was in view, he looked at his small niece in shock.

From what he could see, Len's arms, upper torso, neck, and most of her face were wrapped in bandages. Her eyes and mouth were uncovered, as well as a gap under her nose so she could breathe through her nose. Kakashi could only assume that Len was wrapped in bandages from her chest down, just by looking at how she looked like a mummy from what he could already see. Her platinum-blonde hair was singed in some places, but her hair looked damp from when they had to wash her to clean and treat her burns. That was something at least, if her hair had survived then there was a good chance that rest of the damage wouldn't be more than superficial for the most part.

Kakashi, thinking that Len was already asleep with her eyes being closed, crept closer to the small row of seats for the visitors to sit in. Though, the moment Kakashi was halfway to the chairs, Len's eyes slowly opened to reveal her navy-blue irises and turned her gaze to her uncle.

"U-uncle Kakashi..." Len trailed off in a strained voice. The sound of her saying his name made Kakashi jump slightly before he turned his head to look over at the small child in the large hospital bed.

"Oh, hey kiddo," Kakashi said softly as he turned fully to face her. _I guess that means there wasn't too much heat damage to her lungs,_ he thought in relief. "I thought you were asleep. I… I didn't wake you, did I?"

Len shook her head ever so slightly. If Kakashi wasn't paying close attention, he would have missed it. "N-no... I was j-just...r-resting my eyes..." she told him. Her eyes then scanned the room. "W-where is he?" she demanded.

"Where is who, Len?" Kakashi asked. Looking down at her with confusion.

"T-that b-blond haired b-boy..." Len answered. Returning her blue eyes to his uncovered black one. "T-the one who b-brought me h-here..."

"Naruto?" Kakashi guessed. "He probably went home shortly after he brought you here."

"U-uncle Kakashi... O-our clan… they..." Len's eyes began to water as she looked at her uncle. Her throat catching as she thought about what had happened.

"Shhh," Kakashi soothed as he stepped closer to Len's bedside. "I know, Len. I know. You need to calm down. You've already worked yourself up enough. You need to stay calm and rest."

"B-but... A-Animaru, he-"

"Len, stop," Kakashi ordered in a gentle voice. "I already know what happened. I know who caused it. Don't work yourself up over it, anymore. Just focus on resting so you can get better, okay?"

Len stared up at her uncle for a long moment before she finally nodded. "O-okay..."

"Good," Kakashi said. "Now, get some sleep, Len. It will help to speed your recovery."

Len nodded faintly before she closed her eyes, once more, and drifted to sleep. Kakashi watched her for a few moments before he turned and walked over to the chairs and sat down. As he sat there, he allowed everything that had happened to finally sink in.

His entire clan - except for Len, Animaru, and himself - were all dead. Animaru was somehow involved. Considering how Len wanted to tell him. Why? Why would he do such a thing? Sure, Kakashi didn't get along with Kojaku, but that was no reason to want him dead. Though they never did see eye-to-eye on anything, Kakashi knew Kojaku still cared for him, because Kojaku continued to take care of him after their father killed himself. Kakashi even still cared about Kojaku, even though Kojaku's arguments always annoyed and stressed him out beyond belief. Animaru had no reason to kill them. Animaru was loved by everyone in the clan. More than half believed him to be the spirit's new favorite with how fast he moved up the ranks and then joined the ANBU units. His father and mother loved him. What was his reason?

Kakashi looked back over to his sleeping niece. Looking at the extent of the damage she had received. She had third and fourth-degree burns covering her entire body. The doctor's didn't think she was going to make it past tomorrow with the extent of her injuries. Did Animaru intend to kill even Len? Len was his "shadow". Whenever Animaru wasn't on a mission, Len was following him around everywhere he went. Animaru even started training her to be a kunoichi at four years old, a year before she even entered the Ninja Academy. Why would he attempt to harm her?

Unless… were Len's injuries an accident? Animaru had succeeded in killing _everyone_ else. Everyone _except_ for Len. Could he have not meant to injure her when he attacked their clan? Or was it something else? Could he not bring himself to kill her? Why kill them all in the first place?

Kakashi sighed tiredly, shifting his gaze down to the floor as he thought it over. Regardless of what had happened, Kakashi knew one thing to be certain.

He needed answers. He needed answers from Animaru. Tracking him down was going to be a challenge, but it was something he had to do. Nothing about this made any kind of sense, and he needed answers. However, because Animaru was nowhere to be found, he couldn't get answers from him just yet.

So Kakashi would have to settle for the next best thing...

 _What does the Sandaime know...?_

* * *

A/N: Like my story? Please support my writing by becoming my patron at . com. Type in " . com." Then add "/ elderxchildx6" to the end of it and it should take you directly to my page. (Be sure to remove the spacing between everything so that way you can actually get to my account.)


	2. Chapter 1: Graduation

**Team Tragedy**

 **A Naruto Fanfiction**

 **Author: ElderxChildx6 Co-Author/Editor: EDelta88**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. All rights reserved.**

 **Team Tragedy (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

 **Len Hatake (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Graduation**

 **-Six Years Later-**

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU, NARUTO!"

Sasuke, one of the many academy students in Iruka sensei's class, couldn't help but smirk when he heard a familiar voice yell at the "loser" of the class. Of course, he didn't particularly like either one. Naruto wasn't worth his time or effort, the Hatake girl however...she posed a problem for him.

 **Flashback**

 _"We have a student switching into our class today," Iruka announced to his class as he looked at everyone. "She will be with us from now until she graduates."_

 _Hearing this information didn't seem to sit well with a particular raven-haired boy in the class. His ebony eyes showing signs of slight irritation as his expression remained blank of any emotion._

Great... _Sasuke thought as he sat at his desk._ Another fangirl I'll have to avoid...

 _Iruka turned his attention to the entrance to the classroom. "You can come in, now," he called._

 _The door slid open and Len slowly stepped into the classroom. The moment Len walked into the classroom, whispers began to flood the area. Even Sasuke couldn't miss it._

 _They had all heard about that tragic night a few days ago. The Hatake clan residency burning to the ground in a blaze. The culprit hadn't been named, but it was clear that she was a member of the clan. The only part that threw them off would have been the hair. Blonde hair so light, it could be mistaken for the traditional silvery hair of the Hatake clan if you didn't pay close enough attention to see the extremely light blonde of it. She wore a purple tank top with black shorts and black open toe sandals. Her long platinum blonde hair hung off her right shoulder in a loose braid. Her eyes a deep, navy blue. Her skin only slightly tanned._

 _"Hey, Len~!" Naruto called as he stood up, smiling at her. "Finally got out of the hospital, huh? You looked pretty bad there for a while. Good to see you're able to get back to the academy."_

 _Len smiled up at the spiky blond, but the moment she went to talk, Sasuke beat her to the punch. "Will you shut up, Naruto?" Sasuke demanded. "I swear, every time you open your mouth, I get a headache."_

 _Len closed her mouth abruptly as she glared up at Sasuke. Her left foot shifted to step behind her and she leaped into the air. Within less than a second, Len landed on Sasuke's desk space. Grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and tossing Sasuke across the room just as quickly as it took her to reach him. Sasuke's back smacked against the far wall on the east side of the classroom. Making the entire classroom gasp in shock as they looked at Sasuke crumpled on the floor. The raven-haired boy gasping for air due to the wind being taken out of him._

 _"Anyone who picks on Naruto, or treats him poorly, will have to answer to me!" Len said through gritted teeth as she glared at Sasuke. "None of you know anything about what he has done, or what he has gone through. So I suggest you all watch yourselves. If I so much as hear a whisper of a negative comment about or to my friend, I will rip your eyes out and feed them to you as an iced sorbet."_

 _The entire room was silent as all of the students - except for Naruto - stared at the platinum blonde Hatake with wide eyes. Iruka sensei was a little horrified, as well, however, he was the one who broke the silence._

 _"Okay, Len," Iruka sensei began, "I'm sure there's no reason for such extremes. If your finished terrorizing everyone, take your seat so the class can begin."_

 _Len stared at the sensei for a few minutes before she walked along the desk row and jumped down into the aisle. She then walked over to the row Naruto was sitting at and sat down next to him. She gave Naruto a smile. "Hey, Naruto. Good to see you, again."_

 _Naruto flashed Len a smile. "Likewise~"_

 _Sasuke picked himself up off the floor and glared over at the new student that had just tossed him like a rag doll across the room. One of the top of his class, and he was shown up by a kunoichi. Of course he was caught off guard, but everyone would see that as an excuse rather than a reason...except for his annoying fangirls. They would believe him on it. However that didn't do anything to help his pride._

 _Sasuke slowly returned to his seat and Iruka sensei began the class._

* * *

 _At the end of the day, when classes were released, Sasuke was making his way back to his new home he had acquired after his older brother murdered their whole clan. His thoughts lingering on everything that had happened in class._

 _Len matched him on everything. When they were handed out worksheets about the lesson to fill out, Len and Sasuke finished at the exact same time. When they got around to learning the new basic jutsu, both him and Len performed the jutsu flawlessly. When they practiced gripping and throwing shuriken, they had ended up with the exact same score. When they had the sparring matches at the end of the day, Len and Sasuke were paired to fight each other, and they both knocked each other out at the exact same time, making neither the victor to the match._

 _This had never happened before. Sure, Sakura was slowly making her way to becoming a top student, but her grades were still a few points under his. The simple fact that there was a student who was his equal was irritating him more than it should have. Normally, he wouldn't care, and he probably wouldn't have if Len hadn't of knocked him out in the spar. The fact that she had meant that he wasn't strong enough. He always thought he was getting a step closer when he fought against anyone else in the spar, because none of them were able to keep him down. With Len, though, he felt weak. He felt that he wasn't going to be able to kill his brother with her knocking him out._

 _Sure, the fight had ended in a tie. He had knocked out Len in the process, but it still wasn't enough. He had to get stronger. He_ needed _to get stronger. To allow a kunoichi to beat him was unacceptable._

 _"Hey!" Sasuke heard someone shout as he stopped and turned his head to look and see who it was. Seeing Len surrounded by a few boys from the academy. Obviously the person who had yelled was Len, seeing as how one of the boys had a hold of her by her hair._

 _"What's with the long hair?" one of the boys asked in a snide voice._

 _"Are you looking to try to impress Sasuke?" another boy asked. "Are you another 'Sasuke fangirl'?"_

 _"Why would I be a fan of that jerk?!" Len demanded harshly. "Now let go of my hair!"_

 _"Oh? Looks like we struck a nerve," the third boy said._

 _"If you don't let go of my hair, I swear I'll break your arms!" Len shouted. Glaring at the boy who held her hair captive._

 _"Hey!" Sasuke called, getting Len's and the three boys attention. "Will you shut up and leave, already?"_

 _The three boys stared at Sasuke in surprise as the one who had a hold of Len's hair released her. "Oh, no! It's Sasuke!" one of the boys whispered._

 _"What are we gonna do?" asked another._

 _"I'll tell you what we're gonna do!" the third one hissed. Obviously the brains of the group. "We're gonna get outta here, that's what!_

 _"Run!" the third boy shouted as they all ran away from Len and Sasuke._

 _Len watched as the three boys ran off before she looked back over to Sasuke. Sasuke closed his eyes as he let out a small sigh. Len slowly made her way over to him, which caused the raven haired boy to look back at her. Once she reached him, her navy blue eyes glanced away from him as her expression seemed polite._

 _"Thanks for the help, Sasuke," Len said as she stood there. She may not have liked him for what he had done to Naruto, but he did help her, so there was no real harm in trying to be polite just this once._

 _"I didn't do it for you," Sasuke informed her. Making Len look back up at him. "They were annoying me."_

 _Len glared up at him. "I was trying to be polite, you jerk!" Len yelled before she swiftly brought her foot forward and kicked him in the shin. Sasuke's eyes widened at the pain before he quickly knelt down and held his leg as he closed his eyes tightly. "Can't you ever just take it and run with it?! Do you have to be so rude all the time?! How can all of those girls like you when you're always such an ass?!"_

 _With that, Len spun on her heels and walked away. Leaving Sasuke to his aching leg and him making sure it wasn't broken. He glared after Len as he slowly rose back to his feet. Ignoring the slight sting that remained from her kick._

 **End of Flashback**

Sasuke opened his eyes to see Len dragging Naruto into the classroom by his collar. Her expression less than pleased. The girl who was different from the others he had to deal with. Even though he looked at her as his rival...he couldn't help but be around her. It gave him less of a headache that way. They of course still argued, but that was better than having to listen to his squealing fangirls who'd constantly swarm around him.

"We are close to graduating, and you decide to attempt to deface the Hokage Faces!" Len continued to shout as she dragged Naruto to their usual seats and threw him into his chair. "Honestly, Naruto! Now is not the time to pull pranks! We need to be at the top of our game if we want to graduate!"

"And I've been training, Len," Naruto assured her. "Believe it! This year I'll graduate for sure!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto's response. His "Believe it!" catchphrase was beginning to get real old, real quick. Len even appeared to be annoyed by it. The platinum blonde closed her eyes as she sighed heavily. Pinching the bridge of her nose. "You better if you think you can attempt to slack off," she grumbled.

How Len could tolerate Naruto, no one knew...well, except for Len and Naruto, that is. Apparently, a rumor spread that Naruto actually saved her life. Because of this, Len apparently felt indebted to Naruto, and thus she called him her "friend", and helped stop everyone from bullying the knuckle-head. Of course, almost as quickly as the bullying started for Len, Naruto stepped up and began to defend her. Sasuke had only done it, once. And once was enough. Naruto, on the other hand, didn't allow anyone to pick on Len if he heard about it.

Over time, though, the male populous of the academy-minus Naruto and Sasuke-all seemed to stop picking on Len and started to develop a crush for her. The male students becoming her "fanboys", just as most of the female students were Sasuke's "fangirls".

Sasuke, ignoring the particular fangirls in question who were all hovering over him, rose to his feet and walked over to Len and Naruto. Causing all of the fangirls, including Sakura and Ino, to stare after him. Completely confused as to why he had gotten up in the first place when he would usually just sit there.

"Uzumaki getting on your nerves, yet?" Sasuke teased as he stood there at the other side of the row Naruto and Len were at. His hands in his pockets.

Len switched her attention to the raven-haired boy across from her. "Not really," she answered coolly, "but to say he doesn't frustrate me, at times, would be a lie."

"Um...Len," Kiba called to her. Making her turn her head to see the beast tamer standing in front of one of the many windows. Kiba pointed a finger out the window. "I thought you _stopped_ Naruto from painting on the Hokage Faces..."

Len gave the pre-teen a quizzical look as she walked over to him. "I did..." she trailed off. "He was carrying the bucket of paint on his way to the monument when I grabbed him." She looked out the window at the monument and her eyes widened. Sure enough, the monument had been graffitied on. How Naruto had managed it, no one really knew. They all knew he did it. They just didn't have any proof that he had done it. Len had given him the perfect alibi by dragging him back to the academy before he could.

Sasuke walked up behind Len to look at the defaced monument as Len shook and trembled with rage over the idea that she wasn't able to stop Naruto. After a few seconds of looking at the monument, Sasuke leaned in to the outraged girl.

"You sure he hasn't gotten on your nerves, yet?" Sasuke asked in a mumble into her ear.

"NARUTO!" Len's yell made Sasuke lurch back as Kiba took a step away from her. Len glared over at Naruto. The obnoxious blond shivered as he looked at her enraged expression.

"What?" Naruto asked in a slightly high pitched voice. Sounding a little terrified.

"How?!" Len demanded through clenched teeth. Pointing a finger towards the monument.

"I didn't do it!" Naruto protested. "You dragged me to class before I could."

"Loser," Sasuke said under his breath.

Without breaking her gaze from Naruto, Len reached out and grabbed a handful of Sasuke's hair before she slammed his face into the wall in between two of the said windows in question.

"If I wanted help from the peanut gallery, I would have asked for it, Uchiha!" Len grumbled. Keeping his face plastered to the wall as she glared at her best friend.

This of course caused hoots from all of Len's fanboys, and screeching shouts of anger from Sasuke's fangirls. Sasuke slowly tried to push himself away from the wall as he glared at Len from the corner of his eye.

"You little.." Sasuke growled as blood ran down his face from his nose.

Len forcefully slammed Sasuke's face back into the wall. Making more cheers from Len's fanboys fill the room at the same time Sasuke's fangirls shouted at Len for doing such a thing to Sasuke. "Do a favor for all of us, Uchiha, and just shut up," Len ordered. "You'll save yourself the trouble of losing all the time if you do."

"You're the one who will lose, Len!" Ino shouted in outrage.

"In your dreams, Ino," Kiba called to the blonde-in-purple. "Len always wins."

"Alright, class. Take your seats," Iruka sensei ordered as he walked in. His eyes fell on Len pinning Sasuke's face to the wall and he gave them a droll stare. "Len can you please stop pinning Sasuke to the wall and take your seat?"

"Yes, sensei," Len said as she let go of Sasuke's hair and walked back to the row of desks Naruto was sitting at. Taking her seat at the desk in the middle of the row. Naruto sitting to her left.

Sasuke pushed himself away from the wall. Holding his nose as he walked over to the same row as Len. Taking the only open seat in her row. Making all of Len's fanboys and Sasuke's fangirls complain that they couldn't sit next to either one.

Iruka sensei walked over and gave Sasuke a box of tissues for his bloody nose as everyone slowly sat down in their seats. The lesson was one everyone-especially Naruto-knew already, but since the graduation test was tomorrow, they were reviewing the Transformation Jutsu. Nothing too over the top. Everyone had to transform into anything they wanted, so long as it looked like the person they were transforming into.

Most of the class, including Sasuke and Sakura, transformed into Iruka sensei. Naruto even followed their example and transformed into Iruka sensei's likeness, not wanting Len to get even more angry with him over his pranks he liked to occasionally pull. When it was Len's turn, however, she didn't follow the norm of the rest of the class.

Her transformation turned into a man of average height and weight with a slightly muscular build. With bright green eyes and short silver hair. Wearing an ANBU Black Ops uniform, minus the mask. Iruka had a picture to compare her transformation with, but even Iruka did not know who it was, exactly, that Len had transformed into. Judging from the picture she gave him, it was obviously a member of her family, but he didn't know how immediate the person in the picture was.

After a minute, Len changed back into her original platinum blonde, four-foot-ten appearance. Wearing her chainmail shirt under her navy blue kimono-style sleeveless shirt that wrapped around her neck and showed off her upper back if the chainmail wasn't blocking their view. She also wore chainmail sleeves that went from her wrists to her elbows, black shorts, and the usual open-toed navy blue sandals.

"Great job, Len," Iruka sensei said as he looked at her. "Your transformation was perfect. Although, might I ask you something? "

"It was my older brother," she answered before she walked over to him and took the picture from him. As if she knew the question he was going to ask. "Back when he was still around." She then turned and made her way towards her seat.

"Oh...I see…" Iruka sensei trailed off as he watched her continue on her way. "Well, time for the next part of today's class!" He grabbed worksheets and proceeded to pass them out to the classmates.

* * *

"Why does Iruka sensei always seem to pair us in the sparring matches?" Sasuke questioned as he walked with Len and Naruto out of the academy.

"Probably because he knews that doing so will help us to improve," Len guessed. "And it's not 'all the time', Uchiha."

"Name one time in the recent past that we haven't spared." Sasuke demanded. Giving Len a look of annoyance.

"Two days ago," Len answered. "I was paired with Ami for the spar. And the day before that, I was paired with Ino in the spar. Two days before that, I was paired with Shino…" Len returned her gaze to Sasuke as she gave him a side glance. "Need I go on?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Hatake."

"Did you two tie, again, in the spar?" a voice called out to them. Causing the three Academy students to turn their heads to the newcomer of their conversations.

A boy with shaggy blond hair and blue eyes stood in front of him. He had tan skin, a nicely toned body, and wore a tight green T-shirt with baggy black pants and open toed black sandals. His shuriken holster was on his left leg, and on his brow was the Leaf Village headband. He had one hand on his hip as he smirked at the three academy students in front of him.

Len smiled as she looked at the boy in front of them before she rushed over to him and threw her arms around him. "Axl~" she said happily as she hugged him.

Axl chuckled softly as he wrapped his arms around her and gently kissed the top of her head. "Happy to see me?" he inquired sarcastically as he smirked down at her.

Len looked up at him as she smiled. "Of course I am!" she responded. "I haven't seen you since you went on your mission. How did it go?"

"It was fine," Axl informed her. Releasing her from his embrace as he did so. "A circus wanted my team to catch a saber-tooth tiger for them. It was difficult, but we managed to get it done and bring them the creature."

"Sounds like fun," Sasuke commented as he listened to Axl's explanation.

"I still don't like that guy…" Naruto mumbled under his breath as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his orange pants.

"Neither do I but we have no say in who she fools around with, Uzumaki," Sasuke mumbled back as he rolled his eyes. In his thoughts replacing "Uzumaki" with "loser". Knowing full well that if he said such a thing out loud, Len would pummel him like she always did. Not that she scared him or anything! He just didn't feel like dealing with her right now… or her odd ability to completely outclass him when her punches were fueled by righteous indignation on Naruto's behalf.

"Well, why don't we hang out for the day?" Axl inquired as he looked at everyone. "I'm not going to get another mission until tomorrow. We can always go to the training grounds and train for a while."

"Sounds good to me," Len responded as she nodded. Taking Axl's hand in hers.

"Sounds great," Sasuke chimed in.

Naruto grumbled some incoherent words before he nodded his head. "Let's do it."

 **Flashback**

 _-Months Earlier-_

 _Len walked through the streets of Konoha. On her way home after a long day at the academy. The village was still rather lively considering the time it was. Everyone getting their last minute shopping done before the sun would set. It wasn't quite as loud or as busy as it usually was in the morning to afternoon, but it certainly had a din that carried throughout the village. The setting sun gave the village a orange tint as it illuminated the village for the last few hours it had left. The smells of various types of dinners being cooked and served at home and in restaurants filled the air with delectant aromas that could make anyone's stomach grumble._

 _As Len walked, she did not notice the a small group of three was walking towards her. Or rather, she didn't notice one of them. One of the boys concealed his chakra enough for Len to be unable to sense his. Giving off the impression-to her-that there was a gap between the other two for her to pass right by them without bumping into anyone. It wasn't until she had bumped into the boy in the middle that she realized just how wrong her assumption was._

 _Len stumbled back a bit when she ran right into the very boy in question. Causing the boy to quickly grab her wrist to stop her from falling and look at her with concern._

" _I'm sorry," the boy quickly apologized. "I didn't mean to run into you. I should have been paying more attention to where I was going."_

 _Len blinked as she looked at the blond-haired pretty boy in front of her as she blushed a little. "It's fine. It was partly my fault, as well. I wasn't paying much attention, either. I was concentrating on my ability to sense other people's chakra. I wasn't expecting to find someone concealing theirs."_

" _Oh?" the boy asked as he let go of Len's wrist. "Are you training to be a ninja?"_

 _Len nodded. "As a matter of fact, I am. I've been training ever since I was little."_

" _Well then, I hope you graduate the academy," the boy said with a dashing smile. "What's your name?"_

" _M-my name?" Len stuttered as she looked at the boy with questioning eyes. "...I'm Hatake Len."_

" _I'm Ishida Axl," the boy introduced. "I'm a genin in Kugiri's Squad." He gestured to the guy to his left to specify who he was talking about. "If you want, you can train with us sometime. It might help you to improve so you'll be able to graduate."_

 _Len smiled as she looked at Axl. "I'd like that," she agreed. "It would help me to improve if I train with others who are more experienced than I am. Can my friend Naruto come along, too?" she added. "He needs a lot of improvement."_

 _Axl sweatdropped as he gave a bit of an awkward chuckle. "S-sure," he stuttered. "I don't see a problem with that, at all. The more the merrier."_

" _Great!" Len said happily. "How about we train tomorrow if you're not too busy?"_

 _Axl nodded. "I'm sure we'll be done with our missions by the time you'd be out of the academy tomorrow."_

" _Alright, then," Len replied. "I'll see you tomorrow after classes, then."_

 _With that, she stepped around the small group of genin and rushed off towards her house. Excited for the next day. As the three genin watched the young Hatake girl race off, Kugiri turned his gaze to Axl. His brown hair blowing in the gentle breeze._

" _Is that the girl you had been telling us would be your next point of interest, Axl?" Kugiri asked his teammate as they stood there in the middle of the street._

" _Yes," Axl said with slight amusement. "Yes she is."_

" _It disgusts me the way you toy with girls, Axl," the kunoichi of their squad chimed in as she placed a hand on her hip. Giving Axl a droll stare. "One of these days you're going to end up picking the wrong girl to break their heart if they don't live up to your expectations."_

" _Says the girl who can't even get a date, Tifa," Axl shot back as he turned his gaze to the female of his team. "It's nothing personal. I just want to live the high-life when I retire."_

 _Tifa and Kugiri both shook their heads as they listened to their teammate's reasoning before they all began walking down the street, once more. Axl determined to win Len's heart._

 **End of Flashback**

* * *

"Next up for the graduation test: Inuzuka Kiba," Iruka sensei called out from the doorway of the classroom. Len walking back into the very classroom with confidence as Kiba rose from his seat to follow Iruka into the testing room.

When Len reached her row, she sat down in her seat and smiled over at Naruto. "I passed," she announced. Holding up her Leaf Village headband as evidence in her right hand.

"Awesome, Len!" Naruto exclaimed. "I knew you would pass! Believe it!"

Len leaned over the desk to look around Naruto at the raven-haired boy sitting on the other side of Naruto. Cocking an eyebrow as she smirked. "Did you pass, Uchiha?"

Sasuke scoffed before he held up his headband. "Of course I did," he answered matter-of-factly.

Len blinked as she looked at Sasuke. "You know...it's weird that Mizuki sensei wasn't in the testing room to help decide whether the students pass the graduation exam or not," she noted. "He was here at the academy just the other day, wasn't he?"

"He was probably given a mission or was sick, today," Naruto guessed as he leaned back in his seat. Bringing his hands behind his head as he closed his eyes. Looking rather calm, all things considered. "Don't read too much into it." With what the ninjutsu part of the exam was, and the fact that he had been struggling with the Clone Jutsu almost his whole life, he should be freaking out, even if he didn't want to admit it. So why wasn't he?

"If you say so, Naruto," Len replied as she leaned back in her chair. Slightly suspicious over his rather calm profile.

"Next up for the graduation test: Uzumaki Naruto," Iruka sensei called as Kiba walked back into the classroom.

"Well, I'm up," Naruto said as he stood up from his seat. "Wish me luck, Len." He added as he hopped over her and rushed over to Iruka sensei to follow him to the testing room.

Len rolled her eyes as she smirked. "Good luck, Naruto," she said as she sat there.

Sasuke simply continued to sit there. His eyes closed as he kept his hands folded over his mouth. His elbows resting on the desk. Continuing to sit there and look "cool".

* * *

"Alright, Naruto," Iruka sensei began as he took his seat at the desk with the other two exam proctors. "We're ready when you are."

Naruto smirked before he brought his hands together to form the necessary hand sign for the jutsu he was about to perform. Closing his eyes as he focused his chakra. After a few minutes, he called out, "Clone Jutsu!" A cloud of smoke filled the room for a moment before it dissipated. Revealing three perfect clones standing around him.

Iruka sensei smiled as he looked at the young shinobi-in-training standing before him. For the past few years, Naruto could never seem to pass this test. The Clone Jutsu having been his worst jutsu to perform to the proctors. Although, with the way how he had improved since his friendship with Len started, it was up for debate whether it was actually his worst jutsu, or if he was just simply holding himself back so he could graduate with Len. Either way, Naruto had now given no reason as to why Iruka sensei shouldn't pass him. The clones he made were perfect replicas of himself. There wasn't a single flaw in any of the three clones he had created. And much like the other students, he had created three clones, where before he had barely created one.

Iruka sensei looked back and forth between the other two proctors of the exam as he smiled. "I don't see a reason at all why he shouldn't pass, this time, do you?" he inquired.

The other two proctors shook their heads as they sat there. Their expressions shown their dislike in the idea of allowing Naruto to actually graduate, but they even knew that they couldn't stop him, at this point. He did the exact same talent as the other students. Possibly better with how real the clones looked. They had nothing to say that would be a logical enough reason to hold him back without blatantly stating what he was and break the law of the Third Hokage. Not hearing any objection from the other two proctors, Iruka sensei grabbed a headband off of the table and held it out to Naruto.

"Congratulations, Naruto," Iruka sensei told him. "You graduate."

"YEAH~!" The four Narutos shouted as they all sprang into the air. Throwing their fist up above their head before the three clones disappeared and the real Naruto landed on his feet. He rushed over to Iruka sensei and took the headband from him. "Thanks, Iruka sensei!" he quickly added.

"You're welcome, Naruto," Iruka sensei said proudly before rising to his feet. "Let's head back to the classroom. I need to get the next testee."

Naruto nodded before he followed Iruka sensei out of the exam room and off to the classroom. Once they had returned, Naruto made his way to his seat as Iruka sensei called out the next student to take the exam.

"Well?" Len inquired as she watched Naruto walk over to their row. Standing up for a minute to allow Naruto back into his seat. "Did you pass?"

"Yup!" Naruto answered with glee as he held up his new headband. Smirking at his best friend.

Len smiled brightly as she looked down at him. "That's great, Naruto!" she told him. "Let's go to Ichiraku's to celebrate us graduating together~!"

Naruto looked at her for a moment. "...Axl won't be there, will he?" he inquired.

Len blinked as she looked at him. "...No. He won't." She gave Naruto a small smile. "I know you don't actually care much for him. This is our time to celebrate. I don't want you to have the night dampened just because he's there."

"Great!" Naruto said happily. He then turned his gaze over to Sasuke. "Will you be coming, too, Uchiha?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I really don't see why I should," he told the blond boy. "I really don't care much for ramen."

Len rolled her eyes. "Fine. Be a spoilsport," she accused. "We'll just have fun without you."

Sasuke glanced over to Len for a moment before he closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "Fine," he huffed. "If it gets you to shut up, I'll go."

"Oh, don't go for us, Uchiha," Len ordered. "Go because you want to. We could care less if you show up or not."

Sasuke gave Len a glare as he sat in his seat.

"Alright class!" Iruka sensei called out as he walked back into the classroom. "That is all for today. I will see you back here early tomorrow to assign you to your squads. You are dismissed."

Len quickly rose to her feet as she gave Naruto a bright smile. "Come on, Naruto! Let's go!" She then began rushing out of the classroom.

Naruto quickly got up and raced off after her. "I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he let out another heavy sigh. He didn't really care for going. But seeing his fangirls suddenly charge for him made him suddenly change his mind. He quickly rose to his feet and sprinted off after the blond duo. Avoiding his fangirls as they whined and complained about him suddenly leaving before they could talk to him.

* * *

A/N: The chapters-from prologue to chapter 4-are all going to be quick to upload onto here because I have already written them out and posted them in both my deviantart and wattpad accounts. There are a few minor edits that I had to put in due to the way FF works. But otherwise, it's all the same. Once I post Chapter 4, my updates will be a little slower. But I will try to make sure my updates are regular.^^ It's a bit difficult with multiple jobs going on, that and my mom recently broke her foot, so I have to help her around when she needs it. But again, I'll try to be as quick as I can. Thanks for your support~!

Like my story? Please support my writing by becoming my patron at . com. Type in " . com." Then add "/ elderxchildx6" to the end of it and it should take you directly to my page. (Be sure to remove the spacing between everything so that way you can actually get to my account.)


	3. Chapter 2: The Bell Test

**Team Tragedy**

 **A Naruto Fanfiction**

 **Author: ElderxChildx6 Co-Author/Editor: EDelta88**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. All rights reserved.**

 **Team Tragedy (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

 **Len Hatake (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: The Bell Test**

"The shinobi placed in squad seven are...Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Len, and Uchiha Sasuke," Iruka sensei called out as he looked down at a piece of paper. "The shinobi placed in squad eight are...Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino."

Len and Naruto looked at each other and gave one another a smile. Sasuke rolled his eyes, however to say he wasn't grateful for the people he was partnered with would be a lie. He only wished that Uzumaki wasn't in his squad. Anyone other than Naruto would have been a better choice. Almost all of the girls in the class complained about not getting partnered with Sasuke while most of the male populace complained about not getting partnered with Len.

"The shinobi placed in squad ten are...Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Akimichi Choji," Iruka sensei went on.

"WHAT?!" Ino shreeked. "How can I be stuck with Choji? How is it that Len managed to be on Sasuke's team while the rest of us are stuck with someone else?!"

Iruka sensei looked at Ino. "Because, these teams were created based on who will compliment their teammates the most," he explained. "Through Len's and Sasuke's rivalry, they have both managed to improve much during the time they have been here at this academy. Putting them on the same team where they will be able to find time to train together more easily is the best way to help them both to improve. The same can be said with putting Naruto in the same team as Len. Thanks to Len constantly training with Naruto, he has begun to focus more on his training, and learned how to control his own chakra better. Thus being able to pass the graduation exam. Why spoil the perfect balance they already share? Len helps Naruto to improve through their friendship, while Len helps Sasuke to improve through their rivalry. Switch the roles, and Naruto and Sasuke do the exact same thing for Len through their friendship and rivalry that they all share. And I am sure that, over time, Naruto and Sasuke will be able to help each other improve just as much as Len has helped them, already. What with Naruto being the worst student in the class and Sasuke being the best student."

Naruto shot Iruka sensei and evil glare which Iruka clearly ignored. "You and Choji were placed on Shikamaru's team due to one reason and one reason only: you all can each help the other to improve," Iruka sensei continued. "Whether it works the same way with your team as it hopefully will for Naruto's is still uncertain. As you all are each your own person, and thus will come to do things differently. But it is certain that pairing you all in this way will help you all to improve, in the long run.

"Now, since you all know which squads you are now on," Iruka sensei finished, "it is time for lunch. As soon as you have finished eating, you will learn who your jonin leader will be. So eat up. You'll have a long road ahead for the next several days."

* * *

"So, how is Konohamaru doing, Naruto?" Len inquired as they all sat on a bench outside enjoying lunch. "I saw you with the honorable grandson of the Third Hokage yesterday."

"Yeah," Naruto answered. "I was with him for a little while. He wanted to train under me, so I gave him a few pointers that would help him here and there. He has a lot of work to do blending in with his surroundings, but, he's actually not that bad."

"Someone wanting to train under Uzumaki?" Sasuke questioned as he gave Naruto a droll stare. "Yeah right. You must be exaggerating. No one would want to train with you as their sensei, los-" Len quickly turned her head to glare at Sasuke, which made him gulp. "U-Uzumaki," he quickly corrected.

Len gave him a half-hearted smile before she swiftly brought her hand up and punched him square in the shoulder. Causing Sasuke to jerk to the side from the impact and he closed his eyes tightly at the sting of pain that flooded through his entire arm. How in the heck could she _do_ that?

Len turned her attention back to Naruto. "Alright, then," she told him. "What all did you teach Konohamaru?"

"I taught him my signature jutsu which taught that pervy sensei of his a lesson," Naruto said with a cheesy grin on his face. "The Sexy Jut-"

Len punched Naruto square in the mouth as she closed her eyes and faced down at the ground. "Did you really have to go and teach him something like that, Naruto?!" she demanded.

Naruto rubbed his cheek where Len had punched him as he looked at her with slight confusion. "What did I do?" he inquired.

Len sighed heavily as she brought her hand up and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You know exactly what you did, Naruto. It was stupid of you to do that. You should have been teaching him something more practical than pulling pranks on other people."

"Don't you realize that's exactly what Uzumaki does, by now, Hatake," Sasuke informed her as he continued eating his lunch. "You've been hanging out with the boy for six years. I think you should know by now that he is a prankster at heart, and he always will be."

Len rolled her eyes at Sasuke's comment. "You know nothing about him," Len countered. "Stop trying to claim you know him. Because it's clear you don't. You have no idea the kind of hell he has had to go through."

Sasuke gave Len a stern glare. "And what do you know about hell?" he demanded. "How could you possibly know the kind of hell I have gone through?!"

"I understand it better than you think," Len answered simply as she closed her lunch box and rose to her feet. "I'm going back inside. I'll see you guys in the classroom." With that, Len turned and walked back towards the academy. Heading back to the classroom.

Naruto and Sasuke both watched her walk off. After a few moments, Naruto turned his attention to Sasuke. "Are you really that stupid, Uchiha?" he asked in a level tone. His question earning him a glare from the raven haired boy sitting there with him. After a few minutes of looking into his eyes, Naruto added, "You mean...you really don't know?"

"Don't know what?!" Sasuke barked.

"I thought everyone knew," Naruto said as he looked at Sasuke. "Did you really not hear anything about it?"

"Stop speaking in tongues and start making sense!" Sasuke ordered.

"Len...she…" Naruto trailed off for a moment. Debating whether or not it was really his place to say anything or not. After a few moments, he closed his eyes as he faced the ground. "You know what? Never mind. It's really something she should tell you, anyway... _if_ she ever chooses to tell you."

With that, Naruto closed his own lunch box and stood up. Heading off to the classroom after Len. Sasuke watching the obnoxious blond walk off as he looked at him with confusion. Things were starting to get more and more confusing by the minute.

What could he possibly not know? What could Len be keeping to herself? And more importantly, what could it possibly do with Sasuke?

* * *

The door to the classroom slid open almost as soon as the bell had run signifying that lunch was over and class had started again. Making everyone-even Iruka sensei-turn their heads towards the door in time to see a five-foot-eleven silver haired jonin to enter the class. His headband covering his left eye as he faced the class.

"I am here to pick up squad seven," the silver haired jonin announced. Causing everyone except one platinum blonde girl to look at him with bewilderment, while Iruka sensei looked at the man in slight surprise.

"Y-you actually showed up on time?" Iruka stammered. "On top of that, you showed up _early_?"

The man turned his gaze to Iruka. His uncovered onyx eye staring into the chunin's gaze. "Yes, I know. It's a shock, isn't it? But when I heard who would be in the squad that was assigned to me, I just couldn't contain myself." His voice didn't sound all that enthused. In fact, his tone sounded just as level as his expression looked. He then turned his attention to look straight at Len. "Well, lets get going. We have a lot to discuss."

Len and Naruto both rose to their feet and made their way over to the jonin that had come to pick them up. Sasuke followed their example soon after. Once the three reached their jonin leader, they all turned and left the classroom. The other jonin that had started to show up for their respective squads all staring at the jonin in surprise over the fact he had actually shown up on time.

"Where are you taking us, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked as he looked up at the silver haired jonin with excitement. "Are we going on a top secret mission or something?"

Kakashi let out a slight chuckle from Naruto's words before he answered, "No, Naruto. Not today. You'll see what we'll be doing, soon enough."

"I'm surprised they would even allow you to be our jonin leader, uncle Kakashi-sensei," Len noted. "You already know us for one, and for another you are my uncle. How did you manage to get the Hokage to agree in allowing you to be our squad leader?"

"Very simple Len," Kakashi replied as he looked down at his niece. "I didn't get him to do anything. The Sandaime simply appointed me as your squad's leader. Probably because he knew that I was the only one who could handle this squad. Given how the three of you act towards each other. And since that's where he appointed me, I didn't complain. I'd rather watch over my own niece than let someone else take that responsibility."

* * *

"Um...it seems a bit...unorthodox to do that, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said as he looked at the silver haired jonin. "We already know each other."

"Just run with it, Naruto," Kakashi instructed him. "Here, I'll even start us off. I'm Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and things I hate...I don't really feel like telling you that." Sasuke cocked an eyebrow as Naruto blinked a few times. "My dreams for the future...I've never really thought about it. As for my hobbies...I have lots of hobbies." Kakashi then returned his attention to the three academy graduates. "Now it's your turn. Who will start?"

The trio looked at one another for a moment before they all looked back to Kakashi.

"Um...I'm Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto began. Cocking an eyebrow. "I like instant ramen in a cup, and I really like the ramen at Ichiraku Ramen. I hate the three minutes you have to wait after you pour the hot water into the ramen cup. My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them. And my dream for the future is to become Hokage."

Kakashi nodded. "See? Was that so hard?" Kakashi looked at the other two. "Who wants to be next?"

"I'm Hatake Len," Len introduced. Closing her eyes. "I like training and spending time with my best friend, and my boyfriend, when I can find the time. I hate it how people seem to think they're better than everyone else and downgrade others to make themselves feel superior. I have a lot of hobbies, so I'm not really going to share them. My dream for the future…" Len paused for a moment to look down at the ground. Her navy gaze narrowed with determination. "To find my brother and beat him senseless for what he has done to our clan, and hopefully, one day, restore our clan so there's more than just three."

Sasuke blinked for a second before he looked at Len with confusion. "Wait...what?"

"You didn't know?" Kakashi chimed in. Making the raven haired pre-teen look at him. "See? This? This right here? This is why we're having introductions. Our clan-the Hatake Clan-met a fate similar to yours shortly after what happened to your clan. The only differences, are that I also survived because I wasn't there when it had happened. I was out on a mission when Animaru killed everyone and burned our clan residence to the ground. Which leads to the other difference. While your clan's estate in the village still stands, ours does not."

Sasuke turned his gaze back to Len, who continued to sit there with her eyes still giving that determined look down at the ground. How could Sasuke have missed something like that. Certainly there had been rumors going around. He would have thought he'd overhear at least one. But to his surprise, every memory he recalled, not a single one had someone made any kind of remark over the fact that Len's entire clan had been wiped out.

Maybe...she _does_ understand him more than he thought.

"It is your turn now, Sasuke," Kakashi stated as he looked at the raven haired boy in question.

Sasuke turned his attention back to the jonin. "My name...is Uchiha Sasuke," he introduced. "I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and destroy...a certain someone."

Len rolled her eyes as she looked to Sasuke. "You forgot your hobbies, Uchiha."

Sasuke returned her eye-roll with one of his own. "My hobby is training to become strong enough to destroy the person I mentioned," he informed them. "What more do you need?"

"Good," Kakashi said. "You're each unique and you have your own ideas. We'll start our first mission tomorrow."

Naruto's eyes glittered with excitement. "What is our mission going to be, Kakashi-sensei?"

"It's a task that the four of us will do together," Kakashi answered simply.

"What, what, what, what, what?" Naruto repeated.

"...A survival exercise," Kakashi replied.

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow as he looked at Kakashi. "Aren't we supposed to have a real mission?" he inquired. "This stuff was already covered in the academy."

"This is not like your previous training at the academy," Kakashi informed them.

"Then...what kind of training is it?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi let out a light chuckle as he closed his uncovered eye. "If I tell you, you aren't going to like it, Naruto." He then opened his eye and looked at Len. "Why don't you tell them, Len," he added. "After all, you're not asking any of these questions that they are. Surely you know why."

Len gave Kakashi a serious expression as Sasuke and Naruto looked at her. "...Of the twenty-seven graduates who just came here, only nine will actually be accepted as genin," she began. "The other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back to the academy.

"In other words," Len went on, "this is a make-it-or-break-it, pass-fail test." She then looked to Naruto and Sasuke. "The only reason I know this is because of who my uncle is...and the fact that none of the academy graduates that were assigned to him have ever passed to genin."

"And the chance that you'll fail is at _least_ sixty percent," Kakashi informed them a little too cheerfully.

Len cocked an eyebrow. "Why so high?" she demanded.

"Because Naruto and Sasuke still have a lot to learn," Kakashi informed them. "If this group doesn't advance to genin, then it will be because of them." Kakashi then closed his eye, appearing quite happy. "Now, be at the designated training spot at 5 am, and bring your ninja gear. Oh, and you might want to skip breakfast. If you don't, you'll get sick."

Len closed her eyes as she sat there. "Always so dramatic, uncle Kakashi-sensei."

* * *

Naruto growled with irritation. "How long is he going to make us wait?!" he demanded. "He wanted us to be here so early! Why didn't he show up at the exact same time?!"

"Calm down, Naruto," Len ordered. "Getting frustrated about it is not going to help anything. I'd suggest saving what strength and brainpower you have for the exercise. Yours and Sasuke's stomachs have been growling for a few hours now, meaning you actually listed to him and didn't eat breakfast. He didn't say that because you'd get sick, he said that to make it harder for us to pass the test."

"So then...you ate breakfast before coming here?" Sasuke inquired. "Wouldn't that have left evidence that you didn't listen to him when he got up?"

Len turned her attention to Sasuke. "About the only evidence I left behind was a kettle of water," she informed him. "Which was used for tea to help me to wake up and be alert. As for breakfast…"-she shrugged-"I had an apple that I picked from a tree on the way here."

"...Why didn't I think of that?" Naruto asked as he slumped his head.

"Again, conserve what little strength you have left for the exercise," Len ordered, once more. "Considering neither of you had anything, I'd say our chances of failing have increased since yesterday."

"Morning everyone," Kakashi suddenly chimed in. Seeming to have appeared out of nowhere. "Ready for your first day?"

Naruto gave Kakashi an accusing glare. "Hey, you're late!"

"Well, a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way," Kakashi informed them, pointing off behind him as if to emphasize his point. "Now, let's get started." Kakashi walked over to one of the three posts in the training area and placed a timer on top of the middle one. "The timer is set for noon," he added.

 _That gives us only about an hour to complete the exercise…_ the three graduates thought as they watched Kakashi.

Kakashi then reached into his pockets and pulled out two bells. Holding them up for the three graduates to see. Len gave Kakashi a droll stare the moment she saw the bells. "Your task is very simple. You just have to get a bell before time runs out," Kakashi explained. "If you can't get a bell before then, you'll be tied to one of those posts"-he pointed to the three posts in question as he spoke-"and you'll watch me eat my lunch."

"If there are three of us, why are there only two bells?" Sasuke asked. His arms folded over his chest.

"I know the answer to that," Len began before Kakashi could answer. Making both Sasuke and Naruto look at her in confusion. "It's to ensure at least one of us doesn't get a bell. The whole point of this exercise is to work as a team in order to get the bells. That way, whether we actually got one or not, we technically still pass the exercise. If we can't work as a team, then we fail."

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Kakashi. "You've used this very same test on how many genin recruits, now, uncle Kakashi sensei?" she demanded as she placed a hand on her hip. "At least six. Considering I'm in this squad I would have thought you'd pick something different since I know what it takes to pass it."

"That's why I know you'll already be passing, Len," Kakashi informed her. "I don't expect you to get a bell. And if you did, it'll mean one of the boys goes without lunch. Because neither of them are willing to work with each other. This test isn't for you, Len. This test is for Naruto and Sasuke. If neither of them gets a bell, they'll lose this exercise."

"Whatever," Sasuke said as he closed his eyes. "I highly doubt that I really need Uzumaki to get a bell."

"He's right, Uchiha," Naruto grumbled. "As much as I hate to admit it, we won't get those bells attacking him one-on-one. He is a jonin, while we have only just graduated from the academy. His strength and speed outmatch ours. He also just said that Len would not be getting a bell, not unless she wants one of us to go without lunch and ultimately fail the test. We both know how she is. Because she knows how this test works, she won't go for one. If anything, she'll give us distractions while we go for the bells. Even though you claim you don't like Len, you're still willing to work alongside her. But you and I have always butted heads. So much so Kakashi sensei knows teamwork is what we lack. So put your ego aside and let's get this done so we don't get removed from the program permanently. If we can't get something as basic as teamwork down, that's what going to happen to us..."

"Why would I work with you on anything, Uzumaki?" Sasuke demanded as he glared at the blond boy. "You've never taken anything seriously unless it involved Len. And before she came around, you didn't take your classes or your training as seriously, either. You're a joke."

"Alright, enough with the bickering," Kakashi ordered as he gave Sasuke a droll stare. Just how dense was Sasuke's ego? He was told how to pass the test before it had even started, and he wasn't willing to listen. If things continued this way, Sasuke was going to end up being the one tied to a post. "When I say 'start' you can begin."

Len, Naruto, and Sasuke braced themselves.

"And...start!" Kakashi announced. Sasuke, Len, and Naruto each jumping off to find a place to hide the moment they heard him start the test. Sasuke hiding in a tree off in the distance while Len and Naruto hid in the bushes. All of them careful not to be spotted by Kakashi.

 _Well, they have "concealing themselves from their enemy" down…_ Kakashi thought as he looked around. Finding it rather difficult to point them all out from their hiding place. _Naruto especially, considering his orange pants stand out so much. Len certainly taught him well on that one…_

Len gave Kakashi a droll stare as she crouched in the bushes beside Naruto. This test would be easy for her and Naruto. Being such good friends, they had the teamwork thing down. And even though Sasuke and Len didn't like each other too much, Naruto did have a point. They were still willing to work together on things when they absolutely had to. But this test was to get Sasuke and Naruto to work together as a team. Naruto didn't mind really working with Sasuke to get something done, but he'd be spending too much time arguing with Sasuke to get him to do it that they'd ultimately end up running out of time.

As it stands, Len and Naruto could simply take the bells from Kakashi and have Sasuke end up on the post. Even when it was told outright how to pass the test to him, he still refused to use teamwork with Naruto to pass. However, even though Len wouldn't mind seeing him tied and refused lunch, she didn't want to do that to him.

 _How can I get him to pass this test, too?_ Len thought as she continues to kneel there.

Len's eyes fell on the bells at Kakashi's waist. " _Your task is very simple. You just have to get a bell before time runs out,"_ Kakashi had said. Those few words played in her thoughts over and over again. Until finally, her eyes widened with realization.

"Naruto," Len whispered, turning her dark blue gaze to her blond friend.

"Yeah?" Naruto whispered back. Looking at her with confusion.

"I need you to distract my uncle for a few minutes," Len informed him quietly. "Think you can do that?"

"Sure can!" Naruto replied just as quietly with a big smile on his face. "Believe it!"

Len smirked before she rose to her feet and sprinted off. Heading back towards town. _If Naruto distracts uncle Kakashi while I'm gone, chances are Sasuke will use those distractions to his advantage,_ she thought as she continued on her way. _And if I get back before time runs out, all three of us will pass the test._

Naruto watched Len race off before he turned his attention back to Kakashi. After a few minutes, he brought his hands up to form a hand sign. _Shadow Clone Jutsu!_ He thought. Creating multiple clones of himself. Once he was finished, he and all his clones stood up before they each sprinted off in different directions. All of them doing the very thing Naruto was best at.

Setting traps and pulling pranks. And this time, Kakashi was the target.

* * *

Kakashi was really starting to get annoyed, now. He hadn't seen Len at all and he had been dealing with Trap Master Naruto for the past several minutes. He had left a few snare traps, which Kakashi had seen and avoided easily. Kakashi had dodged a few of Naruto's trip wire traps of shuriken and logs being thrown at him.

However, as time went on, it was getting more and more difficult to dodge Naruto's traps. Some of these traps that he didn't end up dodging had a few pepper bombs explode on him. Burning his eye and temporarily killing his very sharp sense of smell. It was a good move, considering just how strong his sense of smell was.

Sasuke even tried to take advantage of these pepper bomb traps and attack Kakashi, himself. Almost retrieving a bell, in the process, each and every time he did. All the while Len no where to be found.

The part that had really dampened his mood, however, was that he had fallen for one of Naruto's pit traps. Kakashi had been too busy trying to make sure Sasuke wouldn't sneak up on him with his sense of smell compromised that he didn't pay too much attention to where he was stepping and fell into Naruto's trap.

What was even more frustrating? Neither Naruto or Sasuke took advantage of his temporary distraction to retrieve a bell. Something was clearly up.

Finally, Kakashi heard the alarm go off in the distance. Since none of them had gotten a bell, Kakashi closed his eyes as he sighed heavily.

"Oh well," he huffed as he used a few hand signs and used the Escape jutsu to get out of Naruto's pit trap. Slowly making his way back to the clearing with the posts.

Once he made it to the clearing, he saw Len, Naruto, and Sasuke all standing there. Naruto smiling smugly while Len and Sasuke just stood there, smirking.

"Well, it looks like none of you got a bell," Kakashi began. Closing his eye as he spoke. "I guess you really didn't-"

 _Jingle. Jingle. Jingle._

Kakashi blinked at the sound he had heard before he looked back at the three academy graduates. Seeing a bell in each of their hands. All of them now smiling smugly.

Kakashi opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He quickly looked back down at his waist. Yup. The two bells that he had were still there. Yet all three of them had a bell. There was only one explanation for it.

Kakashi had said that they had to retrieve _a bell_ before time ran out. He did not specify that the bell they had to retrieve was the very ones he had. So what had happened was very simple. While he was distracted dodging Naruto's traps and Sasuke's attacks, Len had ran off to a store to buy a box of bells for them.

Kakashi gave the three children an accusing glare. "That's cheating," he told them.

Len, Sasuke, and Naruto all pointed to themselves as they all said, "Ninja~" at the same time in a sing-song voice.

"But you were supposed to work as a team," Kakashi countered.

"We _did_ work as a team," Len interjected. She pointed to Naruto. "Naruto distracted you,"-she then pointed to herself-"I got the bells,"-and then she pointed to Sasuke-"and Sasuke looked pretty."

Naruto snickered at Len's comment about Sasuke while Kakashi and the raven haired boy in question gave her a quizzical look.

"How is that Sasuke helping?" Kakashi demanded.

"Because the cheerleaders always have to look pretty and cheer the intelligent teammates on," Len answered with a smile.

Naruto burst into laughter, then. Falling to the ground almost instantly as he held his stomach. Kakashi let out a light chuckle at Len's answer. Seeming slightly amused at his niece's reasoning. Sasuke, however, was less than pleased. He gave Len a death glare as he stood there next to her.

"HATAKE!" Sasuke shouted in absolute rage. His hands clenched into fists and trembling uncontrollably. Ready to punch her for the comment.

"Besides, I heard that Sasuke used a few of Naruto's traps to his advantage while I was out getting the bells," Len added with a shrug. All traces of humor now gone from her face as she now looked serious. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that mean Sasuke and Naruto worked as a team in distracting you? At least from my absense?"

Kakashi closed his eye as he sighed heavily. "You're going to use a technicality to get me to pass you?"

"It doesn't matter if it's an inch or a mile," Len informed her uncle. "Winning is winning. And we clearly won. Naruto and Sasuke worked as a team to distract you, even if it wasn't intentional. And we each got _a bell_ before time ran out. Thus, we win."

Kakashi let out another light chuckle as he folded his arms over his chest. "I guess you do have a point," he agreed. "Very well. You all pass."

Naruto threw his fist in the air. "Alright! I knew we could do it!"

Len smiled at Naruto as Sasuke grumbled at Len's comment about him being a cheerleader.

"I suppose I will see you all at the mission hall tomorrow, then," Kakashi announced. "You all have the rest of the day to yourselves. Enjoy your lunch. Len cooked them, personally."

Sasuke looked at Len in slight disbelief. "Len can cook?" he asked. "And cook well?"

"Of course she can," Kakashi replied. "She's a kunoichi. She has to be able to cook good food to poison her targets without them knowing. Remember, the Hatake clan was known for their assassination capabilities."

That made Sasuke a little skeptical. "I don't know if I'd want to eat it, then."

"Oh, please, Uchiha," Len groaned. Placing her hands on her hips as she gave him an annoyed look. "You're not even worth my time to try to poison."

Sasuke gave the platinum blonde girl an accusing glare once more as Len just stared at him with a serious expression on her face.

"Also," Len added. "We're on the same team whether we like it or not. I'm not going to kill a fellow squad member. Trusting in one another is what we need to do. Otherwise, how can we function as a team?"

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. Len...did have a point.

"So eat the food, Uchiha," Len ordered. "It won't kill you. We need you at your full strength for the missions to come. And you can't do that by starving yourself in some misguided attempt to keep your girlish figure."

With that, Len grabbed one of the bento boxes and handed it to Sasuke. Sasuke stared down at the boxed lunch for a few minutes before he closed his eyes and took it from her.

"Whatever," Sasuke said simply before he sat down on the ground. Moving the chopsticks off of the lid and opening the bento box. Inside was a large helping of white rice with a side of cooked vegetables and teriyaki chicken.

The aroma that came off of the teriyaki chicken was incredible. The vegetables had a perfect golden brown hue to them. And the rice looked like they had been cooked to the right tenderness. Just as perfectly as the chicken and vegetables.

Sasuke stared at the contents of the boxed lunch in slight astonishment. It looked almost like how his own mother used to make his lunches for the academy. _But...no one could truly beat a mother's cooking_ , Sasuke thought. … _Could they?_

Sasuke took the chopsticks he had removed earlier and broke them apart. He then grabbed a piece of the teriyaki chicken, mixed it with the rice, and took the bite. His eyes instantly widened as soon as the food touched his tongue.

Mouthwatering. The tangy sweetness of the chicken and the soft white rice was delicious. It was right up there with his own mother's cooking. How was that even possible? How long had she been trained in the kitchen?

Sasuke looked over to Len as she ate her own lunch and pointed his chopsticks at her just as she had taken a bite of her food. Making her look at him in bewilderment.

"You're cooking our lunches from now on," Sasuke ordered simply as he pointed his chopsticks at her. Len giving Sasuke a droll stare as Kakashi let out a light chuckle.

"I take it you like her cooking that much?" Kakashi asked.

"It's better than I had expected," Sasuke answered. Closing his eyes as he brought his hand back towards the lunch box before he continued eating. Not wanting to give Len the satisfaction of hearing that he enjoyed her cooking.

Kakashi looked back to Len. "Guess that means you'll have to start cooking for everyone, Len," he told her.

"I don't really see why I have to always cook a lunch for Uchiha," Len said simply as she continued eating. "I wouldn't mind making a lunch for Naruto from time to time, but Uchiha? He hasn't given me a reason why I should cook him food beyond passing the bell test."

Sasuke rolled his eyes before he went back to eating his food. Naruto snickering as he did the same. Len finished eating and closed her bento box. Standing up and handing it to Kakashi. "I'm going to go off to find Axl and tell him I made it to genin," she announced. Turning her attention to Naruto and Sasuke. "I'll catch up with you guys later to train and such."

Naruto nodded as he looked at her. His expression appearing a bit concerned. "Alright. See you later, Len."

"Fine," Sasuke said simply as he closed his eyes. Continuing to eat.

Len looked over to her uncle and smiled. "See you back at home, uncle Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi returned her smile. "See you then."

With that Len raced off back towards town to find Axl. Excited to tell him the news on her being accepted to genin.

* * *

It had taken Len almost the whole day to find Axl. She hadn't been able to find him anywhere throughout the village. She went to his house to see if he was there, only to be told by his mother that he was out and didn't know when he'd be back. All she knew was that they weren't on a mission at the moment, so his mother guessed that he was out training with his fellow teammates. Len checked the other training areas with no luck on finding Axl, but she did find Kugiri and Tifa. Both of them informing her that he was training with them and then had said he had things to do and ran off.

Len searched through the rest of the village. Having no luck finding him anywhere until she managed to spot the blond in a restaurant in town. Smiling over having finally finding him, she rushed off into the restaurant to reach him before she instantly stopped in her tracks in the threshold of the restaurant. Her eyes wide with astonishment.

There, sitting next to Axl, was Ami. One of the many kunoichi in the academy. One of the very academy students that always used to pick on Len for her long hair. Accusing her of liking Sasuke when she in fact didn't. She also picked on Sakura a lot for her big forehead.

Axl appeared concerned about something. Because Ami's back was facing Len, Len couldn't see what expression might be on her face. Axl had his hand on Ami's cheek to make her look at him before he slowly leaned in close to Ami and closed his eyes. It was clear at that point what Axl was doing. Especially as Len watched him wrap an arm around Ami's waist to pull her closer to him.

Len's entire body shook and trembled at the sight. Her eyes welling up as she continued to watch the scene unfold. She couldn't get her legs to move, no matter how hard she tried. Whether it was to go towards them and smack Axl for doing such a thing, or whether it was to turn around and run back out of the restaurant. All she could do was stand there. Watching as Axl continued to kiss Ami right in front of her.

They were a couple, and yet Axl was cheating on her with another girl. How long had it been going on? How long had she not known? Did it just happen, or had it been going on for a while without her knowing?

Len watched as Axl slowly pulled away from Ami. Looking at her for only a moment before his gaze shifted ever so slightly. When he saw Len standing there, his eyes instantly widened.

"Len!" Axl called in surprise. Causing Ami to turn and look at the platinum blonde girl standing in the doorway of the restaurant.

The instant Len heard Axl call out her name, She instantly closed her eyes tightly as she finally found the willpower to move. She turned away from them and dashed out of the restaurant. Running as fast as she could to get as far away from Axl and the restaurant as she possibly could. The tears spilling over and running down her cheeks as she raced off.

Axl had tried to rush after her, but the moment he had gotten out of the restaurant, Len was already gone. Axl closed his eyes as he facepalmed.

Axl had screwed up.

* * *

A/N: Like my story? Please support my writing by becoming my patron at . com. Type in " . com." Then add "/ elderxchildx6" to the end of it and it should take you directly to my page. (Be sure to remove the spacing between everything so that way you can actually get to my account.)


	4. Chapter 3: Len's Disappearance

**Team Tragedy**

 **A Naruto Fanfiction**

 **Author: ElderxChildx6 Co-Author/Editor: EDelta88**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. All rights reserved.**

 **Team Tragedy (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

 **Len Hatake (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Len's Disappearance**

It was night as Sasuke walked through the streets of Konoha. The sky rather cloudy. Barely able to see even the moon through the dense clouds that loomed overhead. Sasuke had his hands in his pockets. His gaze to the ground as he walked. He had not seen or heard from Len since lunch in the training area with Kakashi. She had said she'd meet up with both him and Naruto later to train. She always kept her word. Especially if it involved training.

But it was already dark, and there was still no sign of her.

 _Something's wrong,_ Sasuke thought as he walked. _Hatake wouldn't normally do something like this._

"UCHIHA!" Naruto's voice echoed down the empty street to Sasuke's ears and his eyes instantly widened. He turned to look behind him to see Naruto rushing towards him. The expression on the obnoxious boy's face looked worried.

"What is it Uzumaki?" Sasuke called as he watched Naruto come closer.

"I can't find Len anywhere!" Naruto told the raven haired boy once he reached him. His eyes filled with panic. "I've looked everywhere for her! I went to hers and Kakashi sensei's house, I went to Axl's. I looked throughout the village! But she's gone!"

"Uzumaki, you need to calm down," Sasuke instructed. "Where exactly have you looked?"

"I've looked all over the village!" Naruto almost shouted. "I haven't been able to find her anywhere!"

Sasuke then started racking his brain. Thinking of any place Len could possibly be at. _Naruto said he had looked everywhere in the village,_ Sasuke thought as his eyes narrowed into calculative slits. _...But what if she wasn't in the village?_

 **Flashback**

 _-Two Years Ago-_

 _Sasuke was heading back home from the academy. Still fuming over the fact that he had been paired with Len in the spar and had once again tied with her by them both rendering each other unconscious. It was frustrating him more and more that they have never been able to beat each other in the spar for the entire four years that they had known each other._

 _As he walked, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye and turned his head to look. Off in the distance he saw Len go through the village gate._

 _Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at the sight. There was no reason for Len to go outside the walls of the village. So why was she?_

 _Now a quiver with curiosity, Sasuke decided to follow after the platinum blonde girl to see where she was off to. Being careful not to get too close to blow his cover, but remaining close enough to keep her in his sights._

 _Once Len was a certain distance away from the village, she turned and entered the forest. Sasuke following after her quietly to see what it was she was doing. The last of the sunlight bleeding through the leaves of the trees and making the forest almost sparkle. After a while, Sasuke came to a small clearing in the woods. A few tree stumps were scattered about here and there that had looked like the very tree had snapped and fallen over. Possibly from a very strong gust of wind if the tree wasn't very healthy. A few dead trees laying on the ground not too far from the stumps in question as evidence that something had clearly happened to them._

 _Sasuke remained concealed in the trees as he watched the young kunoichi rival of his punch and kick at a tree. The bark appearing worn from constant beating over time. As he continued to watch from a safe distance, he could hear sniffling. As though someone was crying._

" _Stupid Ami!" Len retorted in a trembling voice. "She doesn't know anything! Anything at all!"_

 _Len continued to punch and kick the tree in front of her. Crying the entire time. After a few minutes of watching, Sasuke finally decided that his curiosity was sated. She had simply come out here to train. And with that conclusion in mind, he turned and began to head back to the village._

 **End of Flashback**

 _Could that be where she went?_ Sasuke thought as he recalled the memory.

What if she went there only when she was upset? If that was the case, what had Axl done? She had gone off to see him before she was supposed to train with him and Naruto. Could Axl have done something to upset her?

There was only one way to find out. Sasuke had to find her, and he had to find her _now_.

"Why don't you give the north end of the village another look through," Sasuke suggested. "I'll cover the south end. When one of us finds her, head off to find the other so we stop searching."

Naruto nodded. "Alright," he agreed. "Sounds good."

Naruto then used a hand sign as he focused his chakra. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Suddenly, there were seven Narutos standing there in front of Sasuke. Sasuke blinked a few times as he looked at them all with an accusing glare.

"Wait a minute…" Sasuke trailed off. Putting two and two together in his head. " _That's_ how you got away with defacing the Hokage monument!"

"Are you going to stand there arguing with me about the prank I did days ago or are we going to focus on finding Len?" All the Naruto's demanded.

"Right, right," Sasuke agreed as he closed his eyes. "Good luck," he added before he turned and rushed off.

"Same to you!" the Narutos called after Sasuke before they all went off in different directions throughout the north end of the village.

* * *

Sasuke rushed through the forest just outside the village gate. Trying to remember the exact route he had followed Len on to reach her secret training area. Hoping that he was going the right way and that Len was actually there. It was already difficult navigating through the forest in the dark and trying to remember the route from two years ago, but on the way it had started to downpour. the raindrops cascading through the forest and hitting his eyes to make it that much more difficult.

After what felt like a few hours, Sasuke managed to find the clearing he was looking for. The clearing seeming to be bigger since the last time he had seen it. More trees had appeared to have been snapped from their trunks and lying there on the forest floor. Sasuke looked around frantically in the dark. Trying to see if Len was even there. The clouds seemed to shift just enough to allow the moonlight of the full moon to illuminate the clearing. Sasuke's eyes widening slightly at the sight. His expression filled with concern.

Len was sitting there on the ground. Her back resting against the tree that was directly behind her. Soaked entirely from head to toes as she cried hysterically. Facing up towards the sky as she did so. She had taken off her chainmail sleeves. The sleeves resting on one of the many fallen trees not too far away from her. Her knuckles, forearms, and shins badly gouged and bloody. The blood mixing with the rain water and dribbling down her fingers, arms, and legs. Her legs and arms trembling from the abuse they had taken. Sasuke had never seen Len in such a state before. At least not where she self-inflicted the damage done to her.

"Hatake!" Sasuke called before he quickly rushed to her side. Making Len open her eyes ever so slightly and turn her half-lidded gaze to the raven haired boy running towards her.

"Uchiha?" Len asked in a strained, quivering voice. "W-what are you doing here?"

"Never mind that right now," Sasuke ordered. "Why did you do this, Hatake?" He took her right arm tenderly in his hands and held it up. Examining the extent of the injuries.

"A-Axl...he…" Len trailed off. Her voice catching in her throat as she recalled the memory.

"What did he do, Hatake?" Sasuke demanded as he let go of Len's arm and looked back up at her. Cupping her face in his hands. Len closed her eyes as she started to cry even more. "Len, come on, you need to talk to me. Naruto and I can't help if you don't talk to me." He gently stroked his thumb against her cheek. "Come on. Let me see those deep blues." Len slowly opened her eyes once more to look up at Sasuke. "There we go. Now what did Axl do that has made my rival crumble?" he asked softly.

"He...he cheated on me," Len finally answered. "I don't k-know for how long...b-but I found him k-kissing Ami…" A few whimpers escaped from her throat before she closed her eyes again and buried her face into his chest. Crying even more. "Why?" Her demand was muffled into his shirt. "What d-did I d-do? He's only a y-year older than m-me! It can't b-be because of a-age! And I haven't d-done anything wrong or d-differently! So w-why?!"

Sasuke just sat there. Holding Len in his arms as she cried. To say he wasn't uncomfortable would have been a lie, but at the same time, he didn't want to move her. Not because he enjoyed it or anything. It was simply because of Len's current mental state that he didn't want to push her away. There was a time and a place for such things, and now certainly wasn't the time.

"Is that why you have self-inflicted injuries?" Sasuke inquired. Wanting to keep her talking in an attempt to help her calm down.

"I...I wanted to h-hurt him," Len responded. Her voice still muffled from her talking into his shirt. "B-but I couldn't bring myself t-to hurt him. I-I came out here to b-beat my aggression out on s-something else. The a-adrenaline pumped through me so much... I-I didn't even notice I was hurt u-until you held up my a-arm."

Sasuke closed his eyes as he listened to Len's reason. It was now clear to him that she only did it because she still cared enough to not want to hurt him. So, matters had to be put in someone else's hands.

Sasuke didn't like the fact that Axl had made his rival cry. And Sasuke knew that Naruto wasn't going to stand for it, either. So, they had to do what Len couldn't. At least for the time being.

There was another problem, however. Len's injuries needed to be treated. They weren't too severe, but if they got infected, it would cause a problem. But, Len didn't particularly _like_ doctors. It wasn't that she was afraid of them or anything. She just apparently didn't like them for some reason or another that she would not seem to share.

There was only one solution to the problem, at that point. Sasuke had to go to Kakashi to have Len's wounds treated. Because the Hatake clan was known for their expertise in assassinations, they had to know a thing or two about anatomy and muscle structure. So, hoping he was making the right decision, Sasuke carefully shifted his hands to create a hand sign. Focusing his chakra.

Len turned her head to the side so her face wasn't buried in Sasuke's chest, anymore. As she looked at the scenery around her, she suddenly began to see feathers drifting and dancing in her vision. A type of genjutsu to make her fall asleep. And because she was already exhausted from her crying and her training, she couldn't fight against it. She eventually closed her eyes as the feathers continued to drift around in her vision before she slipped into unconsciousness. Once she was out, Sasuke released one arm from around her and tucked his free arm under her knees. Picking her up with her head resting against his shoulder.

Sasuke then sprinted off towards Kakashi's house. Zipping through the trees once more back towards the village. Once he was back through the gates, he made his way towards his destination. Having trained with Len for the years he had known her, he had come to learn just where she lived. So finding her house wasn't too hard.

Once Sasuke reached the small two-story house, he walked up to the door. Carefully knocking without dropping Len. He stood there on the porch. Waiting patiently for Len's uncle to open the door.

As he waited, Sasuke looked back down at the platinum blonde Hatake asleep in his arms. Despite the day she had, she seemed rather peaceful. It was a side Sasuke hadn't seen of her. He had to admit it was nice to see. Knowing that what Axl had done wasn't haunting her dreams. Maybe she was already starting to get over it. Even if it was just a little.

Sasuke finally heard the door open and he turned his attention to the tall well-built male wearing his half mask that covered only his nose and mouth, his black long sleeve shirt that only came to his elbows, and his black pants. He wasn't wearing his headband, enabling Sasuke to see the scar over his left eye which remained shut as his single onyx eye looked down at the raven haired genin holding his niece.

Kakashi looked at Sasuke for a few minutes. Shocked that _he_ was carrying Len home for a split second before he noticed the extent of her injuries on her arms, legs, and knuckles. The moment he saw the gouges, Kakashi looked at Sasuke with a glint of anger.

"What happened?" Kakashi demanded.

"You take care of her," Sasuke told him. "Naruto and I will take care of this."

Kakashi stared at Sasuke for a long moment. After a while, Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"It would be better if you heard what happened from her rather than me," Sasuke added.

After a few more seconds, Kakashi nodded and then took Len from Sasuke. Once Len was in the care of her uncle, Sasuke turned and headed off to find Naruto...or at least one of his clones.

* * *

It took Sasuke a little while to track down Naruto, but when he found him, he informed Naruto of what Len had told him. And of course, Naruto wasn't too happy about what Axl had done to his best friend.

"Can I kill him?" Naruto asked in a tone of voice that was entirely too calm to mean anything good.

"No, Naruto," Sasuke answered. "You can't kill him."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow as he looked at Sasuke with puzzlement. "...That's the first time you've called me by my first name," he noted.

"Yeah, I know," Sasuke told him. "We're on the same squad, now. It's time I started treating you as a member of the team." Sasuke paused for a second before he added, "You're still a loser, though."

"Len's going to kill you when she finds out you said that last part," Naruto said with a smirk.

"Are we going to focus on Axl and what he's done to our partner?" Sasuke demanded. Glaring down at Naruto.

"Okay, okay. What's the plan?" Naruto inquired.

Sasuke stepped closer to Naruto and whispered his plan into the obnoxious shinobi's ear. Naruto listened eagerly. After a minute, however, he couldn't help but look at Sasuke with confusion.

"Wait…" Naruto trailed off. "You want me to…"

Sasuke nodded. "Yup."

"But...why?" Naruto demanded curiously.

"Naruto, you know exactly why," Sasuke told him.

"But...doesn't that seem a bit...I don't know...unjust?" Naruto wondered.

"Len wouldn't like it if we seriously injured him, yet," Sasuke informed him. "So, for now, we're doing this plan so he still learns his lesson, and we get the satisfaction of teaching it to him."

Naruto looked at Sasuke for a moment before he shrugged. "Whatever you say, Uchiha."

"Hey, we're teammates, remember?" Sasuke asked. "You can call me by my first name if you want."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto told him. "Is that why you're calling Len by her first name, too? Because she is our teammate?"

Sasuke nodded. "It is. What other reason would I have for calling her by her first name?"

"I don't know," Naruto replied. "It's just...something about you seems different."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Come on. We need to get going."

* * *

"So, why exactly did you want to talk to me in the middle of the night?" Axl inquired as Sasuke and him walked down the street. Appearing very tired.

"Because," Sasuke began, "It's something important. It couldn't wait until morning."

"Then what is it, already?" Axl demanded with an irritated grown.

"Well, first off, let me give you the good news," Sasuke insisted. "Uzumaki, Hatake, and I all passed our survival exercise and have advanced to genin."

Axl slightly stiffened at Len's last name, but he kept his composure as he looked at Sasuke. "That's great to hear. Now, can I go back to bed?"

"I'm afraid not," Sasuke answered. "I have more to tell you."

Axl's through suddenly became very dry. He tried to swallow his own saliva to ease the dryness. "What else is there to tell?"

"Well, you see, after we passed, Len ran off to find you to tell you the good news," Sasuke continued. "Judging by your unease, I'd say something happened. Because, you see, Len had told Naruto and I that she would be training with the two of us, later. After she told you the good news of us passing and making it on the same squad as me and the knuckle-head. But, we haven't seen her since."

Sasuke could practically see the sweat beading off Axl's brow as he took another gulp. "A-are you saying she's missing?" he stammered.

"Well, I guess you can say that," Sasuke replied. "I mean, that would justify why Naruto and I haven't been able to find her."

"Why are you suddenly calling them by their first names?" Axl demanded.

Sasuke turned his head to look at Axl. "Because they are both members of my squad," Sasuke informed him. "Naruto may still be a loser and I still see Len as my rival, but they're still apart of my team. I am giving them a level of respect they both deserve in being apart of my squad. Now, back to the matter at hand…"

"What do you want me to do?" Axl asked. "I don't know where she is or where she even _could_ be."

"I don't expect you to know," Sasuke replied. "However, wouldn't a boyfriend that cares be more interested in wanting to find out, rather than asking me why I'm using my partners' first names?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he looked at Axl.

"...O-of course I care," Axl stammered.

"Really?" Sasuke demanded. Appearing sarcastically astonished. "If that's the case, why didn't you come out to look when Naruto informed you that she was missing?"

"Naruto never said she was missing," Axl told him.

"He came to ask if she was there when he came to your house," Sasuke countered.

"No he didn't," Axl denied. "I didn't see Naruto at all, today."

"Hey, Naruto," Sasuke called as he turned away from Axl. "Did you or did you not talk to Axl about Len when you went to his house?"

Naruto slowly crept out of the shadows as he folded his arms over his chest. "I did," He answered. "And he told me that he hadn't seen her. Didn't sound too worried that I couldn't find her, either. Didn't even bother to help."

Axl really started to feel uncomfortable. He swallowed hard once more as he looked back and forth between the two of them. "What are you-"

"We found Len, Axl," Sasuke informed him. Not allowing him to know the full truth that _he_ was the one that actually found Len. "She told us that she found you with your tongue down Ami's throat. And yet, you're _Len's_ boyfriend. Why would you be kissing another girl when you're with her?"

"I'll tell you why," Naruto interjected. Still glaring at Axl. "Because he found out he wouldn't have an easy life with her. Not at first, anyway. He found out he'd have to work to get money to live comfortably, rather than marry into it like he wants. He wants an easy life, and Len can't give him that, right out the gate."

"Why would you say a thing like that?" Axl demanded.

Naruto smirked devilishly. "Because I heard you talk to your other squad members about it when you 'bumped into her'."

"How could you have possibly overheard that?" Axl inquired. Looking at Naruto in shock.

"Do you really need to ask that question?" Naruto shot back, only the one standing in front of Axl wasn't the one who said it. Axl turned his head towards where the voice had come from to see another Naruto emerge from the shadows. That Naruto pointed to himself and said, "Ninja~"

Axl stared at the Naruto clone with astonishment. "H-how did-"

"A lot of practice," another Naruto clone interrupted. Making Axl whirl around at the other clone. "And Kakashi sensei's help."

Sasuke gave Naruto a quizzical look. "Kakashi sensei taught you the Shadow Clone Jutsu?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah," he answered.

"Hmm," Sasuke hummed. "Interesting." He returned his attention back to Axl. "Now, are you done pretending that you love our squad member? Especially to the one who wants to kill you, right now?"

Axl slowly crumbled to his knees as he gave up. He had been caught. There was no way around it. Tifa had been right. Which shocked him a great deal, but he was now going to pay the price. He should have heeded his squad member's words, instead of sneering in her face.

Sasuke smirked as he watched the blond pretty boy slouch in defeat. They didn't need to even lay a hand on him to win, but that wasn't going to stop them. Oh, no. This guy deserved every bit of what would come next. And Sasuke wasn't going to stop it from happening simply because Axl was starting to realize his mistake. He would learn the hard way never to mess with anyone like this ever again. Whoever he would come across in the future to come.

"Have fun getting back home, cheater," Sasuke said with a triumphant smirk.

Axl slowly lifted his head to look up at Sasuke with confusion. "Huh?" he asked.

All of a sudden, Sasuke, all the Narutos, and even his surroundings rippled out of his vision. Axl now sitting in the middle of the forest, rather than in the streets of Konoha. A genjutsu. How had Axl not seen it, before? Was it because it was Sasuke who used the genjutsu? Being from the Uchiha clan, it would be understandable, but he was still a fresh genin. How could he have done one so well that not even he noticed?

"By the way," Sasuke's voice echoed from every direction, "if you attempt to come anywhere near Len again, I won't stop Naruto from killing you, next time."

The short hairs on the back of Axl's neck stood up. Hearing the truth in Sasuke's words and becoming that much more terrified of the two genin he had dealt with for the past few months. Swallowing what little saliva he could create down his extremely dry throat, he slowly rose to his feet.

He turned and took a step forward, but the moment his foot touched the ground, it gave in under his weight as he fell into one of Naruto's pit traps. It was certainly going to be a long walk back to Konoha. With all of Naruto's traps hiding at every turn. In a forest, in the middle of the night.

* * *

"Len, are you almost ready?" Kakashi shouted up the stairs. Waiting for his niece at the bottom of the stairwell.

"Not yet!" Len called down.

Kakashi looked back to Sasuke and Naruto. "...I guess we wait, then."

"It's no big deal," Naruto replied as he brought his hands behind his head. "I can wait."

"As can I," Sasuke agreed.

Kakashi closed his eye as he appeared to be smiling. "Good to hear."

Up in Len's room, she sat in front of her vanity, staring at the reflection of her in the oval-shaped mirror. Specifically staring at the reflection of her hair. Memories of Axl constantly complimenting and touching her long hair poured into her thoughts. Faintly feeling every touch he had ever given while admiring her hair. The feeling alone made her serious expression slowly change to a mask of sadness as her eyes began to water. She gritted her teeth as she tightly closed her eyes before she grabbed the scissors. No longer wanting to feel his fingers run through her hair. No longer wanting the memories to haunt her. She looked back at her reflection as she brought the open scissors to her hair and began cutting. Cutting each strand of her platinum blonde hair until it was just above her shoulders.

She examined herself in the mirror once more as she sniffled. Making sure it didn't look like crap when she finished. Occasionally fixing a few places so it looked straight and even. When she was done, she gave herself a faint smile before she put the scissors away and cleaned up her mess of hair on the floor. When she finished that to the best of her ability, she turned and left her room. Heading downstairs to meet up with the others.

The moment they heard footsteps coming down the stairs, they all turned their heads to see her. The moment Len was within their line of sight, Naruto and Kakashi stared at her with astonishment. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, but otherwise his expression remained serious.

"Len, why did you cut your hair?" Kakashi demanded.

"Because I wanted to," Len answered as she looked at her uncle. "I didn't want to be constantly reminded of _him_."

Kakashi's and Naruto's expressions both changed to understanding as they looked at Len.

"I see," Kakashi replied.

Sasuke stared at Len for a moment before he walked over to her. Len blinked a few times as she watched him come closer. Once Sasuke was next to her, he grabbed a few strands of her hair and looked at it. As if examining it. After a few minutes, he let go of her hair. Putting his hands back in his pockets.

"It looks nice on you," Sasuke told her before he turned away and headed towards the door.

Len blinked again as she watched him walk away. "Um...thanks?" Her voice sounded just as confused as she looked.

"At any rate, lets go work on our missions for the day," Kakashi announced.

Len nodded before she followed the others out of the house. Kakashi and the others following behind her. Making their way towards the mission hall. Ready to begin their lives as official shinobi.

* * *

A/N: Like my story? Please support my writing by becoming my patron at . com. Type in " . com." Then add "/ elderxchildx6" to the end of it and it should take you directly to my page. (Be sure to remove the spacing between everything so that way you can actually get to my account.)


	5. Chapter 4: The C-Rank Mission

**Team Tragedy**

 **A Naruto Fanfiction**

 **Author: ElderxChildx6 Co-Author/Editor: EDelta88**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. All rights reserved**

 **Team Tragedy (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

 **Len Hatake (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: The C-Rank Mission**

Len groaned as she slouched her head. "This is getting really dull," she complained.

They had just found the poor cat, Tora, for the fifth time this week. With all the other D-Rank missions they had done for the past several days, it was really starting to feel underwhelming, to put it nicely. The owner to the cat was so obnoxious and odd, it was no wonder the cat was constantly running away from her. Thankfully, the others were feeling the same as Len, as far as Sasuke and Naruto were concerned.

"Why can't we do anything more challenging?" Sasuke inquired. "All of these missions seem no different from the training ones we'd do at the academy."

"They are necessary," the Third Hokage answered. "They will help you to become better ninja and grow more accustomed to your team."

Sasuke gave Sarutobi a droll stare. "With all do respect, Sandaime-sama," he began, "if you haven't noticed, you have three of the strongest genin in one team and we've more or less been a team for several years now."

"Why is it whenever someone says, 'with all do respect,' it is immediately followed by something disrespectful?" the Third Hokage mumbled as he gave Sasuke a look of disapproval.

"Why is it whenever someone says, 'with all do respect,' and then say something that can be misconstrued as disrespectful, someone else points out that they are being disrespectful?" Naruto shot back. "When the entire point of saying 'with all do respect' is to attempt to point out something without other people taking it as disrespectful and simply pointing out a fact that should have been obvious from the start."

Everyone turned their attention to Naruto, then. Completely taken aback by what he had just said. The surprise was easy to read on even Len's face. Naruto looked back and forth between Len and Sasuke with confusion.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"That...that actually sounded smart…" Sasuke trailed off as he looked at Naruto with disbelief.

"Hey! I read... sometimes," Naruto replied indignantly.

"Manga don't count, Naruto," Len informed him.

Naruto turned his attention to Len specifically. "...They don't?" Naruto asked. "...What about _1,001 Quips Quotes and Snappy Comebacks_? Does that count?"

"No," Sasuke told him. "That doesn't count, either."

" _How to be Badass_ by Zaraki Kenpachi?" Naruto guessed.

"That definitely doesn't count," Len answered. "...Might be useful, though," she added thoughtfully.

" _Icha Icha Kunoichi_?"

"Yeah, no," Sasuke replied as he turned a _fascinating_ shade of red.

"Thought that one seemed dodgy. What about _Chunnin's Guide to Pranking_?"

"You can't be serious? Where the hell did you even find that?" Len demanded.

"...Does _Encyclopedia Ninja_ count?" Naruto inquired.

"N-" Sasuke stopped himself for a second before he cocked an eyebrow. "Actually that would count..."

"How about Dictionaries?" Naruto tried.

"Sort of," Len answered, wondering when he was reading dictionaries.

"Ninjutsu creation?" Naruto continued.

"Yes," nervously Sasuke replied, wondering where Naruto was going with this and more than a little worried that Naruto of all people was learning how to make ninjutsu.

"Fuinjutsu theory?" Naruto inquired.

"Fuinjutsu?!" Len squeaked, thoroughly terrified of Naruto learning to play with the fabric of reality.

 _He's studying how to use seals?_ Kakashi wondered worriedly. _For how long?_

"Blood will tell," the Third Hokage mumbled. _The spawn of Minato and Kushina playing with the fabric of the universe…_ _I see many headaches in my future to come from this… and twice as much paperwork._

"What about the chaos theory?" Naruto went on.

Silence fell on the entire room for a moment before Kakashi finally spoke. "Naruto, have you been reading advanced physics?"

Naruto looked up at his sensei. "Only on the weekends…"

The Sandaime looked at Naruto for a moment. "Naruto, what's the natural logarithm of euler's number?"

Naruto turned his attention to the Third Hokage. "One," he answered simply. "Why?"

Sarutobi's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Naruto, how often do you read?"

"I'm reading a few scrolls on fuinjutsu and chapter forty-two of _How to be Badass_ right now," Naruto replied.

"I asked how often you read Naruto, not what you were reading," the Hokage chided.

Naruto scrunched up his face in confusion. "But I'm reading right now," he argued.

"...What?" The Third Hokage demanded.

"Back at my apartment…" Naruto trailed off. "What? You didn't think I was going to waste my time with these dopey D-ranks when I could actually be doing something useful did you?"

Sasuke pointed to Naruto. "You're teaching me the Kage Bunshin-no-Jutsu so I can do that."

"...Only if you call me Naruto-sensei," Naruto replied with a foxy grin.

"I'll call you Naruto-senpai, but not while we're in public!" Sasuke quickly haggled.

"Naruto-sensei, and only when we're training?" Naruto argued.

"Only while you're teaching me Kage Bunshin and for the first month after I successfully use it," Sasuke counter offered.

Naruto shrugged. "Works for me."

"Deal!" Sasuke quickly agreed before the blond menace thought of anything to add to the deal.

 _And so the world doth shuddered as an unholy alliance was formed that would one day shake the ninja world to its very core..._

 _...Dafaq just happened?_ Kakashi wondered.

"...What's Kage Bunshin?" Len asked, impatiently tapping her foot as she stared accusingly at her uncle and teammates.

"It's a justu that works in the same manner as the average Clone jutsu you were taught in the academy," Kakashi replied as he looked to Len. "The only difference is that it's a more advanced technique created by the Nidaime Hokage for reconnaissance where the clones are actually solid and any knowledge they've accumulated during their existence is relayed to their creator upon their destruction."

Len stared at Naruto suspiciously. "And...you know this technique, Naruto?" she asked, sounding _slightly_ irritated.

Naruto ducked his head a little. "...Maybe?"

"And that's how you have been using me as the perfect alibi?" she demanded through clenched teeth.

Naruto looked back and forth out of the corners of his eyes a few times before he looked back at Len in horror. "...Why would I ever do a thing like that?" Naruto inquired in a high pitched voice that cracked here and there as he spoke.

Len glared at Naruto. "If you _ever_ do something like that to me again, Naruto, I will fillet you. Batter you in sea salt and cayenne powder then roast you over a bed of coals before serving you to uncle Kakashi-sensei's dogs. Am I clear?"

Naruto cowered in the corner. "Yes ma'am…" he squeaked. "Crystal clear…"

"You guys were saying something about wanting a C-rank mission?" Kakashi asked, hoping to derail Len's anger before she decided to follow through with her threat. Last time she'd said something like that he'd been stuck cleaning up… well, better not to think about that.

Sasuke looked to Kakashi. "Well, a C-rank would give us a bit more of a challenge and possibly get us to keep quiet for a little while if we were given one."

"Keep quiet?" Kakashi asked, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end as a feeling of doom settled over the room.

Len's eyes gained a suspicious sparkle in them as she turned and smirked malevolently at the Third Hokage. "We've been bored. Bad things happen when we're bored. Who knows… I might just tell Naruto to prank the entire village in a fit of pique one day."

The Sandaime looked at Len with slight horror. "...What?"

"Think about it, Sandaime-sama," Sasuke began, grinning like the cheshire cat. "The only reason why Naruto isn't nearly as bad in his pranks as he used to be is because of Len and the demands of ninja life. Unfortunately, Naruto no longer finds our current duties very challenging so the only thing keeping him in check is apparently Len. With them being best friend and all, Len is able to exert a certain amount of influence over his behavior so that you don't have nearly as much paperwork to go through. Were she to become bored and turn her attention elsewhere… well, who knows what might happen?"

Kakashi turned away from everyone for a split second so that he could cry fountains of joy over the fact that his genin were blackmailing one of the most powerful people in the country. And from the look of terror on the Third Hokage's face, it was obvious that they were close to succeeding. _I'm so proud!_

"S-Sandaime Hokage," one of the chunin standing close to him in the mission hall started. "You can't be considering-"

"Do you realize the amount of paperwork I would be dealing with if I didn't consider it?" Sarutobi interrupted as he glared at the chunin not too far away.

"Day's worth," Sasuke provided with a theatrical shudder.

"He'd be in the office day and night just trying to keep up," Len agreed, nodding sagely.

"And while there's only one of him, there's plenty of me to go around!" Naruto chirped. Throwing his arms in the air as if he had just won the grand prize in a contest.

 _What evil little monsters… Kushina, Minato-sensei, you'd be so proud!_ Kakashi thought as he made a valiant effort to suppress his laughter.

Sarutobi glared at the three genin in front of him for a long moment before he closed his eyes. "Bring in the bridge builder, Tazuna," he ordered.

"Y-yes, Hokage-sama," a chunin replied before he hurried to the door to show the supposed bridge builder in.

"You wanted a C-rank mission?" Sarutobi started with a grin. "You've got one. Your mission is to escort Mr. Tazuna back to his village in the Land of Waves. Protecting him from raiders and bandits until he reaches his home safely and unbattered."

Just then, an elderly man with a gray beard, balding head, and a bottle of sake in his right hand stepped into the mission hall. Accompanied by the very chunin that had been told to bring him in.

"What the hell is this shit? I pay you good money for ninja and you give me a pack of rugrats?" the old man slurred.

Naruto's eyes went wide before narrowing to dangerous slits. "Oh hell n-" he started as he began acting as though he was rolling up his sleeves. Only to realize that he was wearing his new black tank top with his orange cargo pants rather than his usual jumpsuit. After graduating the academy, Naruto had seemed to think a change in wardrobe had been in order.

"Remember, safely and _unbattered_!" Sarutobi chirped. Blackmail him would they? Ha!

The look that Squad Seven shared clearly stated that when this was over, they were going to war against their Hokage. No one pranked Squad Seven. _No one_ … except Naruto on alternating Tuesdays.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Tazuna," Kakashi began as he looked at their new client. "My fellow squad and I will be escorting you back to the Land of Waves."

Tazuna gave Kakashi an accusing look for a moment. "So rugrats are becoming ninja, now, are they?" he demanded. "What, they think they can play with the big boys?"

Len forced herself to smile politely at the old man as she mentally was throwing kunai at the Third Hokage.

"Hm? No, no. We've always advanced quickly. Hell, I was a ninja by the time I was five," Kakashi corrected.

"You're also a Freak of Nature, uncle Kakashi-sensei," Len deadpanned.

"Why hello Miss Pot. I'm Mr. Kettle, how are you this fine afternoon?" Kakashi asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I am well, have you met my friends Mr. Crock Pot and Sir Saucepan?" she replied, pointing to Naruto and Sasuke.

"He's the Crock Pot," Naruto said, quickly pointing at Sasuke.

"Like hell I am! Crock Pots are blunt instruments of the culinary arts which has you written all over it!" Sasuke argued.

"...And they're supposed to be protecting me?" Tazuna asked dumbly.

"This is what they're like to their friends. Just imagine what they do to their enemies!" Kakashi chuckled.

"...Fair point," Tazuna replied.

"Now, how about we take some time to gather our equipment, rest, and leave for the Land of Waves first thing tomorrow morning?" Kakashi suggested as he looked around at his fellow squad as well as their new client.

"Bah! Do whatever you want!" Tazuna grumbled. "What's one more day being away from home and delaying the bridge from being built?" He took a long chug of his soke before he turned and stumbled his way out of the mission hall back towards the hotel where he was staying.

"Jiji is lucky, right now…" Naruto mumbled under his breath as he stuffed his hands into his pockets of his orange cargo pants.

"I agree with you," Len whispered back.

"Let's just focus on the task at hand," Kakashi ordered. "You guys wanted a C-rank mission, so you got one."

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto and Sasuke said in unison at the same exact time as Len said, "Yes, uncle Kakashi-sensei," with them.

* * *

Naruto, Len, Kakashi, and Sasuke all stood at the gates of Konoha. Waiting for their client to catch up to them. It had been nearly an hour of waiting before the old drunk finally managed to make his way over to the village gates.

"Good morning, Mr. Tazuna," Kakashi greeted as he gave a half-hearted wave.

Tazuna gave Kakashi a lazy stare for a long moment before he grumbled, "And what's so great about it?"

"Dealing with a hangover?" Naruto asked rather loudly. Smirking at the way their client winced.

"Don't shout, you pesky brat," Tazuna ordered. "I have a killer headache, right now."

"Oh, is this better?" Naruto inquired, suddenly pulling a ludicrously bright flashlight to blink morse code at the old man.

"Gah! No! Shut it off! Shut it off!"

Kakashi turned his attention over to Naruto. "Naruto…"

Naruto looked over to Kakashi for a split moment before he turned off the flashlight and put it away. "Fine," he mumbled. "Ruin my fun."

"At any rate, shall we get going, now?" Sasuke demanded. Becoming quite impatient over the fact that they were standing around.

"Sasuke's right," Len chimed in. "We should leave before it gets too late in the day. We've already delayed Mr. Tazuna enough."

Kakashi nodded. "Well then , since everyone is so eager, ONWARDS! We have a long walk ahead of us."

Tazuna nodded and they all made their way out of the village. Walking down the road through the dense forest that surrounded and concealed Konohagakure. Several hours passed by as they walked. Sasuke, Len, and Kakashi occasionally glancing in various different directions while Naruto just stared straight ahead. His hands behind his head as he walked. Walking with Tazuna between them to make sure that he was protected from every angle.

As they walked, Kakashi noticed something shine out of the corner of his eye and looked down at the ground where the shimmer had come from. Discovering a puddle on the side of the road. Which Kakashi found to be odd because it obviously hadn't rained in several days. And though trees locked moisture for several hours-on occasion two to three days-it certainly would not have remained a puddle for weeks. It would have already evaporated and the ground definitely would have been dry at this point.

 _So we have ninja following us, do we?_ Kakashi wondered as he acted like the puddle didn't seem conspicuous at all. _But are they after us? Or the bridge builder?_

He would find out soon enough. That much Kakashi was sure of.

After a short minute, once the squad of ninja and the bridge builder had made it past the puddle of water, the two ninja materialized out of the puddle. Using their bladed chain, they quickly made their move. Lethally wrapping the chain around Kakashi first. Kakashi's eye widened just before the Demon Brothers tightened the chain and easily cut the jonin leader of the squad to shreds.

The three genin watched the Demon brothers as they cut their sensei into little bite sized pieces. Len in particular watched in horror for a split second before her eyes instantly narrowed into slits of utmost fury.

"How the hell did they manage to sneak up on Kakashi-sensei?!" Naruto demanded quickly.

The Demon Brothers turned their attention towards the three genin in front of them. Separating them from the bridge builder. The brothers shared a look for a moment before they returned their attention back to the genin and went to make their move.

The brother's flung their chain towards the genin bodyguards. Len quickly grabbed the bridge builder and forced him to duck as Naruto and Sasuke jumped over the chain. Sasuke throwing a shuriken at the chain and pinning it to a tree while Naruto threw a kunai through the hole in the center of the shuriken to prevent the Demon Brothers from yanking their bladed chain free.

While Naruto landed on his feet on the ground, Sasuke flipped so his hands grabbed their gauntlets and used his feet to kick the brothers in the face. The force of them falling back from Sasuke's kick breaking the chain from their gauntlets.

Sasuke quickly maneuvered away from the Demon Brothers when one of them tried to swipe their metal claws at him. Noticing that the claws were a little more shiny than usual, Sasuke stood next to Naruto as his eyes narrowed in realization.

"Be careful of their claws, I think they're poisoned," Sasuke told his fellow squad members.

" _ **Raiju Tsuiga!**_ "

 _That sounded like Len,_ Naruto thought… and she sounded _pissed_.

Suddenly, two rather large beasts composed entirely out of lightning zip past both Naruto and Sasuke at the Demon Brothers. The beasts depicted as two hounds that plow right into the brothers before they could seem to have any time to react at all. Sasuke and Naruto watched in astonishment before they turned their attention to Len. The level of rage coming from her practically palpable in the air.

Len then charged towards the brothers as they were distracted by the pain of the electricity zapping them. Len completely ready to kill the two assassins right then and there. The only thing that could stop her at this point miraculously _poofed_ in front of her just in time for her to ram right into Kakashi and his arms quickly wrapped around her.

"Hey, hey, calm down, I need one of them alive," Kakashi told her.

"Fuck that shit! They killed-" Len started, only to freeze and stare over her shoulder at her uncle. "You..."

"Well, as you can see I'm fine so-"

"Not for long you're not!" Len roared swinging her fist at her uncle's head.

"Yowch!" Kakashi yelped.

"What the hell was that?!" Len demanded, emphasizing her anger with repeated punches to various parts of Kakashi. "What the fuck made you think it was a good idea to let me think you were dead? Huh?! I am an orphan. You. Jack. Ass! Do you have any idea what that shit can do to my fragile psyche?! Fuck you, you inconsiderate, self-centered, clueless, brainless, witless, moronic, pea brained, scum sucking old bastard! On what planet did this seem like a good idea? Were you even thinking? No, don't answer that. Of course you weren't thinking! Mr. Super Ninja sharingan copy bitch wouldn't even consider the emotional ramifications of his actions! Why the fuck am I-"

"Has she stopped to breathe yet?" Sasuke wondered out loud, awestruck as his teammate continued to verbally abuse their sensei.

"Don't think so…" Tazuna replied, completely dumbstruck.

"She hasn't and she won't for a couple of minutes," Naruto supplied, only to get strange looks from the other two. "What? Kakashi-sensei is like the most emotionally insensitive person ever… she's had a lot of practice." He then made his way over to the two brothers to restrain them so that they wouldn't get away. Carefully making sure that their poisoned claws didn't touch him as he did so. If Kakashi needed to interrogate them, it was important that they couldn't get away. And since Kakashi was currently distracted with a raving Len, it was up to him and Sasuke to make sure the Demon Brothers didn't escape.

Naruto did have a point. Considering he was her best friend, he would know such things about both Len and their sensei on a level that Sasuke certainly wouldn't. And definitely Tazuna for that matter. Although, there had to be moments where Kakashi wasn't so insensitive. After all, Len was his only family. What would Kakashi do if Len died? Wouldn't he go through an emotional breakdown of some scale if his remaining family was taken away from him? Sasuke thought back to the time when he had brought Len back to her house and the look that Kakashi had given him definitely showed that he wanted to go after whoever had injured Len in such a way. So he had his moments where he wasn't so emotionally insensitive.

When Len finally finished her rant, she practically gasped for air as she glared at her uncle. Who had taken Len's entire beating and insults all while still hugging his niece close to him. He knew and understood her frustration over what he had done. However, he was a ninja. He had to be able to turn off emotion and focus on the importance of a mission. It was apart of their training in the academy. So it wasn't like he was doing anything wrong...in a sense. He was just doing what the mission required of him. Something Len needed to learn. But that didn't mean it was right of him to put his own niece through the emotional strain when she still had much training ahead of her.

"...I'm sorry," Kakashi told her softly. It couldn't fix what he had done, but it seemed that it was all he needed to say.

Len closed her eyes as she finally wrapped her arms around her uncle. Returning his embrace as she began to cry in relief. Kakashi allowed Len to cry for a few minutes as she hugged him before he gently pulled her away from him. Len let out a few sniffles as she wiped the tears away. Kakashi then turned his attention to the Demon Brothers, who were now tied to two trees.

"Who hired you?" Kakashi demanded.

The brothers remained silent as they glared up at Kakashi.

"Talk!" Kakashi ordered. "This will not remain painless, forever!"

"...It was Gato," the brother spoke first. "He is the one who hired us."

"So, you were hired to assassinate the bridge builder, were you?" Kakashi quipt.

"Yes," the brother on the right answered.

Kakashi then turned his attention to Tazuna. "Now, why is an A-rank mission listed as a C-rank mission?" he inquired. "The most dangerous things we should be dealing with are robbers, bandits, and possibly carnivorous wildlife that we happen to get too close to. And yet we're dealing with assassins hired to kill you."

"...It's because of the bridge," Tazuna replied. "I am the one who is heading the project to build the bridge and bring financial growth into our village. If the bridge is completed, Gato loses his power over us. With me gone, the bridge will never be built. The village didn't have the money for the mission to be an A-rank. We have very little money due to Gato."

After a moment of listening to Tazuna's explanation, Kakashi closed his eye as he sighed heavily. "You are lucky that it was us who took on this mission and not one of the other genin squads...especially the other two rookie squads."

Tazuna looked at Kakashi with astonishment. "Wait...what?" he demanded. "I wasn't expecting that kind of answer from any of you."

"All you need to really know is that my team is more... prepared, shall we say? Than the other squads out there," Kakashi told him. "I won't report this to the Hokage," he went on. "But don't misunderstand, I may not report you and while I say you're lucky that we are the ones who took this mission, at the same time, it isn't. What you did was not only very reckless but _incredibly_ stupid. Had my squad not been as skilled as they are or had died because they weren't prepared for this kind of attack and we had been killed because you lied, regardless of your reasons, the absolute best you could have possibly hoped for was a complete loss of goodwill from Konoha. More likely than not you would have faced… well, let's just say that Gato lacks my Hokage's imagination when it comes to making an example of people and he happens to be _exceptionally_ fond of Naruto."

Tazuna stared at Kakashi in slight terror as he listened to the jonin explain hypothetical consequences of his breach of contract with the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Whatever he thought about this squad before, it was clear that had anything happened to them, with him failing to give them the truth, he could have incited a war-a very one-sided war-between his country and theirs. And as much as he didn't like to think about it, Kakashi was right. Konoha was more than powerful enough to obliterate their country off of the map.

"Now that we have that out of the way," Kakashi continued. "Let's get back to returning you to the Land of Waves. We'll continue to be your bodyguards until the bridge is finished." He then turned his attention back to his squad. "Ready to go?"

The three genin nodded as they looked at their sensei. Kakashi returned his gaze to Tazuna. "Start walking, Tazuna."

Tazuna trembled slightly before he started walking. Kakashi and the others encircling him, once more to make sure once again that he was protected from all sides. Slowly making their way into the setting sun and towards the Land of Waves.

…

...

...

Off in the distance, they all could hear the Demon Brothers cry out from behind them, "Hey! You can't just leave us here, like this!"

"Eh, ANBU patrols will pick them up… sooner or later," Kakashi said with a shrug.

* * *

A/N: Raiju Tsuiga = lightning beast

Like my story? Please support my writing by becoming my patron at . com. Type in " . com." Then add "/ elderxchildx6" to the end of it and it should take you directly to my page. (Be sure to remove the spacing between everything so that way you can actually get to my account.)


	6. Chapter 5: The Demon of the Mist

**Team Tragedy**

 **A Naruto Fanfiction**

 **Author: ElderxChildx6, Co-Author/Editor: EDelta88**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. All rights reserved.**

 **Team Tragedy (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

 **Len Hatake (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: The Demon of the Mist**

"Now, Mr. Tazuna, how long has this Gato been causing trouble for Wave Country, exactly?" Kakashi inquired in a quiet voice as they rode the small boat across the sea towards the small island. Already aware of the fact that they had to be quiet so they wouldn't be spotted considering the boatman had turned off the engine and was using an oar to direct the boat to their destination.

"About two years, now," Tazuna answered just as quietly. "We are a small country, we had very little money to begin with. Then Gato came along and… well, he just made everything worse. My plan to build the bridge was a dream everyone in our country shared to bring economic growth to our country without having to rely on Gato's company, to break his hold. As you can guess it's not really something we can hide and he's been doing his best to… discourage us. On the surface, he seems like an honorable businessman, but in reality, he's a tyrant who only cares about money and doesn't care how he gets it. If the bridge is completed, Gato will lose his power over us. It is why we continue to push to build the bridge. We know that, if we can finish it, we will be free of Gato."

"...You're an idiot," Sasuke sighed, shaking his head at Tazuna's speech.

"What?!" Tazuna squawked. "How dare-"

"I think what my incredibly blunt and decidedly undiplomatic colleague is trying to say is: What's stopping Gato from simply occupying your bridge with his thugs once you finish it?" Len interrupted, glaring at the last Uchiha. Would it kill the boy to tone down the angst and be a _little_ understanding?

"That's...an excellent point…" Tazuna grumbled, a pained grimace flashing across his face.

Kakashi nodded. "Alright. We are already going to need to discuss additional compensation for lying to Konoha about critical mission details, no reason we can't take on a good old fashion assassination in the process but we'll burn that bridge when we come to it," he explained, getting incredibly unimpressed looks from everyone else in the boat… not that he cared. He turned his attention to his squad, specifically. "We're not out of danger, yet. So keep your guard up. Just because we made it to the Land of Waves doesn't mean we won't run into more assassins-ninja or otherwise-here. Assume our usual formation when we get to shore and keep a look out for _anything_. Once we reach the house Naruto and I will scout around and from there we should be able to come up with a plan."

Len, Naruto, and Sasuke all nodded to Kakashi's order, though Sasuke didn't look overly happy about it.

"Why does Naruto get to scout?" Sasuke grumbled.

"Maybe because he can be in a thousand places at once and no matter how many people get the drop on him he still gets all the gathered intel and comes back without a scratch?" Len deadpanned.

Sasuke blinked staring between his teammates for a moment. Huh… he'd never really thought of it that way. That _was_ pretty useful.

Len rolled her eyes as she shook her head and looked away from Sasuke.

"This is as far as I can take you," the boatman said once they reached the shore. "Sorry Tazuna but you and your friends will have to manage the rest of the way on foot."

"We understand," Tazuna told the boatman. "Thank you for taking us this far."

The boatman nodded as Tazuna and Squad Seven all stepped out of the boat. Once they were all on land, the boatman started the motor and zipped on by. Taking their usual positions around Tazuna, they began making their way towards the direction of the bridge builder's house.

For the next hour or so the group slowly made their way through the Land of Wave. All the while, Len felt edgy and paranoid as the feeling like she was being watched, like something was out there, got stronger and stronger. Until, suddenly, Len's gaze quickly shifted to a bush and she threw a shuriken at the tree. Catching the attention of the others in the group, quickly.

"Len, what is it?" Kakashi inquired as he looked at her.

"Someone is attempting to ambush us," Len answered as she walked over to where she threw the shuriken. Revealing a white rabbit, scared out of its mind over the fact that a sharp, foreign object almost tried to kill it.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. _Len can sense?_

Sasuke and Naruto quickly pulled out shuriken as they braced themselves. After Kakashi's brief moment of surprise, he does the same. Stepping closer to Tazuna. "Len," Kakashi called. "Get back here."

Len quickly complied with Kakashi's order and took her position. Combat ready as she glanced around the area.

"Do you sense anything else in the vicinity?" Kakashi demanded.

After a few seconds, Len turned her gaze towards in front of Kakashi. "There's someone over there," She told him.

Suddenly, the sound of clapping echoed off in the distance as a tall man with short cropped dark hair and an outrageously large sword that looked suspiciously like a butcher's cleaver stepped from his hiding place and out into the open. His chest was bare, bandages wrapping around his face and neck. Wearing grey striped pants, camo arm and leg warmers, black open-toed sandals, and a leather strap wrapping around his torso, possibly what was holding his sword to his back.

"That's a very skilled kunoichi you've got there," the man informs Kakashi. "Sensing both the rabbit and myself at her age is no mean feat… even if she is a wet eared greenhorn. That's rare to find."

"So...Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Mist, is our next assassin to deal with," Kakashi says as he looks at the ninja standing before him.

"It's no wonder the Demon Brothers haven't shown up," Zabuza noted. "Having an opponent such as you, Sharingan Kakashi."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he looked at Kakashi suspiciously. " _Sharingan Kakashi?"_ he repeats in his head. Wondering how that could even be possible. As the Sharingan is a kekkei genkai exclusive to the Uchiha Clan… Kakashi wasn't an Uchiha, was he? Or some bastard child? But wouldn't the Elders have...

As Sasuke's mind continued to run through the many possible explanations for Kakashi possessing Sharingan, Naruto glared at the rogue nin standing before them… and then promptly struck a dramatic pose as he pointed an accusing finger at the older (and MUCH more experienced) ninja. "Can I cut him down, yet?"

"Naruto, he is probably jounin," Len informs him. "We are genin. Best to leave the majority of this fight to Kakashi-sensei." She never included "uncle" when addressing Kakashi in a professional setting. Not to mention she didn't want to show that Kakashi was actually her uncle to a rogue nin. No sense painting a bigger target on her back when Kakashi would already be distracted enough trying to make sure nothing bad happened to any of them. Announcing that she is his niece to Zabuza would only complicate things further. He would intentionally attack her, just to get to Kakashi.

It would probably still happen, regardless, considering she was a part of Kakashi's squad. But the chances of her getting singled out are one in three thanks to Sasuke and Naruto also being in the squad.

"Len is right, Naruto," Kakashi informs him. "You'd only get in the way. Take manji formation and stay close to the bridge builder." He then takes a defensive stance as he brings his left hand up to his headband. "Leave this one to me…"

"Oh?" Zabuza began. His expression appearing sarcastically surprised. "Does this mean I get to see the Sharingan in action? This will be interesting."

Then, suddenly, Zabuza is gone. Len's and Kakashi's gaze quickly shifts to the water to see Zabuza standing on it. As if it were a solid surface. He has one hand in front of his face while the other is up in the air. Focusing his chakra through the handsign as water begins to swirl around him before a sudden mist starts to roll in.

"Kirigakure no Jutsu!" Zabuza calls, vanishing into the fog as it grew thicker and thicker until the Konoha ninja could barely see each other, much less Zabuza.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Len all assume manji around Tazuna. Each of them palming a kunai and combat ready for anything that might happen. Kakashi is a few steps ahead of them. His right eye already uncovered and revealing his Sharingan eye before Zabuza had made it to the water.

 _So, that's the way you're going to do this, is it?_ Kakashi thought as he calmly scanned the mist, his eyes raking back and forth as he strained his senses to find his opponent. _Well, he didn't earn his reputation as a master of Kiri's silent killing techniques for nothing I suppose._ He thought after a few long seconds without finding anything.

As time went on where Kakashi tried to figure out just where his opponent was, Sasuke's mind was crumbling under the pressure of the killing intent that filled the air. Two jounin. Ready to strike at each other at any second. No hesitation to take the other's life. It was so much to bare. His right hand that held the kunai trembling. He grabbed ahold of the pummel to try to steady his hand. The thought to stab the kunai into himself and taking his own life flashing at least once.

Suddenly, Sasuke felt a hand on his shoulder which made him jump and quickly turn his gaze to the hand in question. Much too small to be Zabuza's. And there was only one person who wore chainmail sleeves like that. He looked over to Len, who was still scanning around to try and make sure Zabuza did not come anywhere close to Tazuna or any of her squad.

"Sasuke," Len began, "you need to calm down. I can sense your anxiety. Kakashi-sensei will not let anything bad happen to us. And if this rogue should happen to get past him, I'll be there to watch your backs. Neither Kakashi-sensei or myself will allow our teammates to die. Put your trust in me...put your trust in him."

Sasuke faces forward once again and focuses on his breathing. Trying to get himself to calm down. Len had a point. Kakashi was a skilled Jonin. If he could help it, Kakashi would not allow anything to happen to them. Not to mention the fact, Len was nothing to sneeze at. Thanks to her influence, Naruto was not a push-over, either. They could handle themselves, if only long enough to be able to get Kakashi out of whatever might come to pass so he could finish the fight for them.

He just needed to believe in himself and his team. They would make it through this.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Zabuza says. Suddenly standing in front of Tazuna, behind the manji-formation that Naruto, Sasuke, and Len stood in.

Within a blink of an eye he was there, and within another, Kakashi had stabbed a kunai into Zabuza's torso up and under the ribs. Stabbing into Zabuza's heart...had it actually been Zabuza and not a water clone. Water trickling down the kunai and dripping onto the ground instead of red blood. The water clone became a puddle on the ground.

Zabuza was suddenly behind Kakashi, then. Kakashi turned his head just in time to see Zabuza swing his sword at him.

"Die!" Zabuza shouted before his sword cleaved Kakashi across the torso.

At first, it looked like Zabuza had actually succeeded in killing the Jonin leader of Squad Seven, however, the image turned into water after a few seconds and fell to the ground in another puddle. Causing Zabuza's eyes to widen. Realizing that Kakashi had copied his water clone technique within an instant.

Kakashi now stood behind Zabuza. A kunai to the rogue nin's throat. "It's over," Kakashi stated, as if the words alone ensured the victory.

"Unfortunately for you, Kakashi-" Zabuza began as he stood there. And then suddenly another Zabuza appeared behind the white-haired jonin. "-a mere copycat ninja will not defeat me." Kakashi's eyes widened as he heard Zabuza whisper into his ear and the one he had the kunai to changed back into water and dropped to the ground.

Zabuza kicked Kakashi hard enough to send him flying across the field and into the water. Zabuza not far behind him, racing towards the water's edge. The rogue-nin paused close to the shore for a quick moment before he turned to face the squad and then jump backwards into the water.

Kakashi broke through the surface of the water. Noticing that the water was much more dense and heavy than it should have been for water.

"Suirou no jutsu!" Zabuza shouted from behind Kakashi. Containing the Leaf jonin in an orb of water that he could not move in or escape from.

 _Fuck...this is bad…_ Kakashi thought. He then turned his attention back to Len and the others. "Get out of here!" he ordered. "He's stuck here to keep me in his prison, so if you run, he won't be able to follow!"

Len closed her eyes as she shook her head. Sighing heavily from what Kakashi had ordered. Sure, the mission is to protect the bridge builder, but they can't just run away because their sensei got caught. If Kakashi ultimately lost the fight and was killed, there would be no way they'd hide from Zabuza for long. He'd track them down easily. So running away wasn't an option.

The platinum blonde looked to her raven-haired comrade. "Oi, Sasuke...let's light 'em up."

Sasuke looked at Len for a split second before realization hit him. Kakashi was inside a giant orb of _water_. He was safe inside that orb from almost any fire-based jutsu. And since Zabuza had to keep his hand inside the prison to keep it in place, he'd either have to release the jutsu and dodge the fire, or risk getting burned to a crisp.

Sasuke quickly went through the handsigns needed to concentrate his chakra to perform the specific jutsu needed. Len shortly following suit.

"Kuton: Gokakyu no jutsu!" Len and Sasuke said in unison before they brought their hand to their mouth and blew a large fireball at Zabuza.

The rogue-nin's eyes widened as he looked at the two large fireballs speeding towards his position on the lake. Already feeling the intense heat of the two fireballs before they could even get close to him. And with how large they were making them, the only way he could dodge was by releasing his own jutsu on Kakashi and getting away. He was certainly not expecting the genin brats to be smart!

Zabuza pulled his hand out of the water orb and leaped out of the way of the fireballs. The orb quickly dissolving back into the lake and Kakashi moving out of the way of the fireballs in time for him to not get singed.

"You brats!" Kakashi squawked as he turned his attention, and considerable irritation, on his team. "You do realize you could have hit me!"

"You were in a ball of water!" Len shot back. "You would have been fine!"

"Only if he was stupid enough to hold it! You almost fried me you trigger happy little pyro!"

"Oh wha~ You deserve it for playing possum and scaring the shit out of me, you prick!" Len reposted. "And why am I the pyro!? Sasuke did it, too!"

"You could have boiled me alive!" Kakashi countered, completely ignoring her very valid points.

"But we didn't, now did we!?" Sasuke inquired.

"You...you...You could have singed my hair!"

Len gave her uncle a droll stare. "Really?" she deadpanned. "Really? You're going to go there, Scarecrow?"

Zabuza sweatdropped as he watched the… unpleasantness, unfold among his opponents. Looking at them all like they were crazy. _And I thought Kisame was nuts. These treehuggers are crazier than a bag of cats… wait a second, where's the other boy?_

"Surprise mother fucker!" Naruto cried as he and a troop of shadow clones that had circled around the shore leaped from shore toward Zabuza.

Zabuza blinked owlishly. _This kid isn't serious is he?_

"Aaaah!"

 _...Apparently he is. But bunshin?_ Zabuza wondered. Obviously the one coming straight at him would be the real one so what was the point?

Zabuza swung his sword at the Naruto in question. As soon as he did so, the Naruto he swung at _puffed_. Making Zabuza realize not only was he wrong, but the brat actually knew how to create shadow clones.

 _These brats are more skilled than I was giving them credit for…_ Zabuza admitted grudgingly, not that he'd ever admit it out loud. Quickly jumping away from the swarm of Narutos as they swam around like awkward piranhas attempting to stab at him from every angle as they tried to stay afloat.

 _This is just sad…_ he thought with a sigh as he dispatched three clones with one swing. _And to think I was almost impressed with-_ Zabuza's inner monologue suddenly derailed as his danger sense practically _screamed_ at him. Without a second thought the elite jounin flung himself to the side...

And not a moment too soon as in the next instant Kakashi's kunai passed through the space where Zabuza's spine had been a moment before.

"Using the brat to distract me, Kakashi?" Zabuza asked, raising… well, raising the space where his eyebrow _should_ have been. "That's a bit ruthless. I was under the impression that you treehuggers were a little more protective of your brats."

Kakashi shrugged and pointed toward the shore where Naruto stood, completely dry.

Zabuza glared over at the blond boy in question before he looked back to Kakashi. The battle between the two jounin continuing, once again.

The suspenseful standoff between the two jounin begins, for no real apparent reason as far as the genin could tell but who were they to judge? One of them waiting for the other to slip up so that they could do the jutsu. The genin watching, eagerly. After a while, Len smirked. Noticing just what was happening.

"Zabuza has lost," Len said quietly to her teammates. Making Naruto and Sasuke glance at her in puzzlement.

The two jounin then began simultaneously going through handsigns at the exact same time. A long string. Reciting what each handsign was at the exact same time.

"Suiton: Suiryudan no jutsu!" Kakashi and Zabuza said at the exact same time as two large dragons made out of water emerged from the lake.

Kakashi and Zabuza then zipped towards each other in a flash as the two dragons began to fight each other before exploding streams of water everywhere over the lake. Kakashi's kunai clashing with Zabuza's Kubikirihoucho. Again standing there for several minutes. Trying to overpower the other for a moment before they suddenly jumped away from each other.

The genin watched them in eager astonishment. Watching the higher level jutsus was certainly a treat in itself to see. And knowing that they were safe, being spectators at the moment didn't seem like a half-bad idea. They still paid close attention, however. The last thing they wanted was to be caught off guard and the bridge building getting assassinated while they watched the fight continue.

Kakashi mirrored Zabuza's every move again. Even reciting the same words. Finishing the rogue-nin's thoughts.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no jutsu!" Kakashi shouted before Zabuza could complete his own jutsu. His sharingan eye spinning seconds before a vortex of water spun around in front of him and shooting itself towards Zabuza. Smacking into him and sending him flying off to the shore and into a nearby tree.

As Zabuza tried to collect his bearings, Kakashi was instantly standing on a branch in the very tree above Zabuza. Glaring down at the rogue-nin. Zabuza stared up at the Leaf jounin in slight horror.

"Can you… see the future?" Zabuza rasped.

"Yes," Kakashi answered coldly. "And your future is death."

Suddenly, two senbon flew out of what appeared to be nowhere and stuck straight into Zabuza's neck. His eyes widened for a split second before he suddenly crumpled on the ground. Kakashi looked at Zabuza with confusion for a moment before he looked up and saw a tracker nin standing there on a tree branch. Len's eyes narrowed as she looked up at the new arrival.

Kakashi jumped down to where Zabuza was at. Inspecting the body to see if he was really dead.

"I can promise you," the young boy began as he continued to stand there in the tree. "He is dead."

"Mind if I have a look?" Kakashi asked as he looked up at the boy. "Just to be sure."

The young boy nodded towards the body. Saying that he could.

Kakashi went back to inspecting the body. Zabuza didn't appear to be breathing. His eyes open. Kakashi brushed his fingers around to feel for a pulse, and found none. It seemed he was dead as a doornail.

"Who's the freak with the mask?" Naruto demanded. "Is it another assassin?"

"Of a sort, yes," Kakashi answered, giving the new arrival an assessing look. "You're a member of the Kirigakure Hunter Division, right?"

"I am," the boy said with a nod.

"Hunter Division?" Naruto wondered. The Academy hadn't exactly gone into detail about the special units that most villages used but that did sound vaguely familiar.

"They're in charge of tracking and either capturing or killing rogue shinobi, Naruto," Len explained.

"Oh! Right, I remember now. Crap that means we can't get the bounty…" he pouted before giving a labored sigh. "Oh well, you know a good jutsu for body disposal or do you need a hand getting some wood or something?"

"I'll take care of it…" the boy replied, using shunshin to suddenly appear next to and picking up Zabuza's body and making a sign to gather chakra.

Kakashi blinked for a moment, confused. Then, eyes going wide, he hurled a brace of kunai at the boy only to be a moment too late. "Shit!" he cursed as the kunai buried themselves in the tree behind where the boy and Zabuza had disappeared. "Well… that's going to be problematic," he sighed.

Len glared at the space where the tracker nin and Zabuza had been. "He's not actually dead, is he?" her question sounding more like a statement than an actual inquiry.

Naruto snorted. "With our luck? We'll be lucky if he doesn't spontaneously develop some bullshit kekkei genkai."

"Hn," Sasuke agreed.

"Well, no use in worrying about it, now," Kakashi said with a sigh. Putting his headband back over his left eye. Hiding his sharingan eye once more. "We've got about a week before he can really be a threat again, any-"

His eyes suddenly widened before he suddenly fell to the ground unconscious. Sasuke, Naruto, and Len all looking at their sensei with shock before they all raced over to him. Tazuna not too far behind.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto called. Standing over Kakashi as Len quickly knelt down and used a diagnostic jutsu to figure out just what was wrong.

Chakra exhaustion...but how? He didn't overexert himself at all...had he? He didn't the sharingan for very long, and he only copied a few jutsu that Zabuza had used. There shouldn't be this much strain to his chakra.

"He needs rest…" Len informed them as she looked up at her teammates. "He has chakra exhaustion."

"We'll take him over to the house, then," Tazuna said. "We're not too far, now. I'll carry him."

Len nodded as she looked up at Tazuna before she rose to her feet and turned her attention back to Sasuke and Naruto. "This doesn't change the original plan. Naruto, you're still scouting once we reach the house to make sure there are no potential threats close by and assess the condition of the village and its inhabitants. We'll figure out the rest once Kakashi wakes up."

Naruto and Sasuke both nodded at Len. The three genin taking their usual formation around Tazuna as he carried Kakashi on his back. All of them making their way to Tazuna's house. All the while Len's thoughts on the two ninja they just had to deal with. Her eyes narrowing with determination.

 _We're going to need to train - and train hard - if we are going to stand any chance against Zabuza in the future._

* * *

A/N: Just so you know, the moment I post this chapter, it's actually 1:12am (EST). I had this chapter finished and was waiting for this day so that way you guys would know and understand that I do have a busy life. And thus will not always be able to post multiple chapters at once every time I update any of my stories-including this one. I will try to make sure I am at least regularly updating my stories. Every one to two weeks. But things may happen where I don't always hold to that. so please bare with me until then. I will not also always be uploading at such an hour, either. There might be times where I don't post the next chapter until the end of the day, or in the middle of the afternoon. So please don't always expect that I'll be posting this chapter in such early hours of the morning.

Also, I do apologize at how short this chapter actually is. Compared to my other chapters, it's actually short by about 2,000+ words. But it is at least still a decent size. Hope you enjoy it.^^ And thank you all for the support.

Like my story? Please support my writing by becoming my patron at . com. Type in " . com." Then add "/ elderxchildx6" to the end of it and it should take you directly to my page. (Be sure to remove the spacing between everything so that way you can actually get to my account.)


	7. Chapter 6: Tree Climbing

**Team Tragedy**

 **A Naruto Fanfiction**

 **Author: ElderxChildx6, Co-Author/Editor: EDelta88**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. All rights reserved.**

 **Team Tragedy (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

 **Len Hatake (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Tree Climbing**

Once they reached the house, Naruto makes several shadow clones and they all go out to take in the surroundings and get a little more information on what was going on within the village. Sasuke played lookout, mostly. Making sure they wouldn't be attacked by any assassins while we stayed at the house. Len worked on healing her uncle using medical jutsus and chakra replenishing pills.

" _ **As strong as your team is, if Naruto and Sasuke can not do something about better chakra control, they might not stand a chance against the rogue-nin you faced,"**_ a wise voice echoes in Len's thoughts.

 _It's been awhile since you decided to make your presence known..._ Len closed her eyes as she took a break from healing her uncle. _What do you propose I do?_

" _ **Train them,"**_ the voice told her. " _ **Kakashi is not exactly fit to really do so. The fact that he hasn't trained to use his Sharingan enough being the reason he has such bad chakra exhaustion after his fight. Train them to better control their chakra. It should not be too difficult for the Uchiha boy. The only reason the Uzumaki child would have a problem is due to his chakra already being unstable thanks to the Kyuubi no Kitsune inside him.**_

" _ **If they are going to stand any kind of chance against Zabuza Momochi,"**_ the voice continued, " _ **they will have to at least do your trick to walk up a tree...I would also suggest getting them to be able to walk on water. The more efficient they are with their techniques, the better."**_

Len opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling. _That would be a good idea...then that way Naruto wouldn't fall into the water if Zabuza managed to take the fight to the water's surface…_

Hearing a knock on the door, Len quickly looked towards the door as a women with long black hair and kind yet fearful eyes walks into the room. She looks at Len worriedly as she stands in the doorway.

"Are you alright?" the woman asks. "You've been in here for several hours."

Len nodded as she looked at her. "I am fine. A little tired from healing him, but I should be fine once I get something to eat. Thank you, again, Tsunami, for letting us rest here."

"It is the least we can do in exchange for your help, despite the lies we have done," Tsunami told the young genin. "Would you like me to bring you something to snack on? Some water, perhaps?"

Len gave the woman a kind smile. "Water and a sandwich would be nice, thanks."

Tsunami nodded before she turned and left the room to go get the food and drink. Len turned her gaze back to her uncle who continued to lie there asleep.

"Honestly, uncle Kakashi," she began quietly. "You should be more careful if your sharingan is going to do something like this to you. I'm amazed none of your enemies have killed you by just dragging the fight out until the chakra exhaustion does the job for them…"

With that, Len started up her medical jutsu once more and began running her hand over him. Doing her best to try and stimulate her uncle's chakra coils to work faster so that he'd wake up sooner. The only other teacher she had to rely on now was the one in her head and she couldn't keep relying on _him_ forever…

* * *

"Why are we out here, Len?" Naruto asked as he looked at his best friend with confusion. Staring around at their surroundings suspiciously. They were in the middle of a forest. Standing by three trees in particular amongst them.

"We are out here to train, Naruto," Len informed him. "Kakashi is unconscious and we can't just sit around while we wait for him to wake up. Now, we're going to work on chakra control." She reached into her shuriken holster and pulled out a kunai. "We are still genin, and when it comes to both you and Sasuke, I know you're not skilled enough to walk on water. That puts you two at a severe disadvantage when dealing with someone like Zabuza who has no issue with taking the fight to the water. And after our last fight he knows that at least Naruto doesn't know that particular trick… hopefully we can fix that before he shows up again."

"So… you're going to teach us to walk on water?" Sasuke asked, sounding sceptical.

"Nope, I'm going to teach you to climb a tree," Len replied, taking no small amount of pleasure in the incredulous looks the boys were giving her. Was this how uncle Kakashi always felt when he jerked them around? No wonder he was so evil. "Before you can get to that point where you can walk on water, you have to be able to control your chakra enough to climb up the tree without your hands," she explained before she brought her hands into the ram sign to concentrate her chakra. After a few minutes, she turned and walked towards one of the trees in question. Stepping onto the trunk, she began to walk up the trunk of the tree before she stood upside down on one of the branches. Looking back to Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto showing his surprise on his face, while Sasuke merely cocked an eyebrow up at the platinum blonde.

"Just like this," Len continued as she stood there on the branch. "Concentrate your chakra to your feet. Make sure you don't use too much, or the trunk will collapse under you and push you off. And make sure you don't use too little, or you'll lose traction and slide back down to the ground. When either situation occurs, use a kunai to mark the highest point you reach, then do it again and try to go past where you marked the tree."

"That shouldn't be too hard," Sasuke said as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted as he threw his fist in the air. "This should be a piece of cake!"

"You don't think this will be hard?" Len demanded with an evil smirk. "What if I told you that you had at most three days to master this technique? Would you find it difficult, then?"

Naruto and Sasuke both stood there, staring up at Len in their astonishment.

"Because of the short amount of time we have before Zabuza will come after us, again, you _will_ master this technique in less than three days," Len ordered. "After that, we will move to walking on water."

Sasuke and Naruto stood there in mute horror. Sure, Tree walking was a difficult skill to master, but to master it in _three days_? How were they going to manage that? They still had to protect the bridge builder as well as his family. But she did have a point. Zabuza was a water-natured ninja. If he decided to throw any of them into the water and then come chasing after them, they wouldn't survive the fight.

Len's eyes narrowed as she looks down at them. "Are you going to pull out a kunai and start the training, or am I going to have to get violent before you actually move?"

That seemed to snap Naruto out of his shock. He pulled a kunai out of his holster and began concentrating his chakra. _If I have three days to master this technique, I'll have to use every second of free time I'd have to spare working on this, then!_ he thought.

Sasuke continued to stand there, completely taken aback by the ramifications Len had set for their training. He was an Uchiha. Chakra control was something they had down fairly well...at least in terms of genjutsu and ninjutsu. But it still took about a full week to master tree walking for even the best shinobi.

A senbon suddenly stuck into the ground, breaking Sasuke from his momentary surprise and actually registering that Len was still there, looking at him. _Did she pack senbon in her bag?_

"Now, Sasuke!" Len ordered. Pointing to the tree that Naruto was using. When Sasuke looked over to where Naruto was, he noticed that there were already several slash marks on the tree already. each slash seeming to only be a few inches above or below the others. Showing he wasn't using enough chakra and was slowly sliding down the tree each time.

Smirking at Naruto's failure, he pulled out a kunai and then made the ram sign to focus his chakra. Of course it would be difficult, but considering he was who he was, mastering tree walking in three days should be a piece of cake. Especially when looking at Naruto. After a few seconds, Sasuke sprinted towards the tree and began running up the trunk. Managing to almost get to the first branch before the tree caved in under his foot and the chakra pushing him off of the tree. Sasuke managed to slash the tree before he twisted in the air and landed back on the ground on his feet.

He was already doing better than Naruto, and he only just started. This was going to be exhausting, but if it meant that he would get stronger, he was willing to do anything.

* * *

It was dark when the three genin finally returned to Tazuna's house. Completely exhausted from the training they had gone through. Sasuke barely making any progress in his training, while Naruto wasn't doing much better. Len-having already gone through the exercise apparently-was seeming to be a master at it. Which was really frustrating Sasuke.

Was there anything the young Hatake girl _couldn't_ do flawlessly?! Seriously, would it kill her to actually struggle at something? It wasn't fair, dammit!

Tsunami already had dinner made and on the table. Tazuna, Tsunami, and her son, Inari sitting there ready to eat. There was even a strikingly familiar man with silver hair sitting there with them.

"Yo," Kakashi said simply as he held his hand up in greeting at the three genin. "Enjoy your training?"

"YOU!" Naruto shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Kakashi. "How could you do that?! Do you realize the hell Len is making us go through, now, thanks to your stupidity?!"

Kakashi turned his gaze to Len. "You're teaching them how to tree climb, are you?"

Len gave Kakashi a droll stare. "If they want to stand even a small chance _living_ against someone like Zabuza, they're gonna have to."

Kakashi closes his eye. "It is a good call," he agreed. "I would have done the same, had I been conscious."

"Well, you weren't, and the boys were moving like slugs, so I had to improvise," Len told him before she walked over to the table and sat down. Grabbing herself a decent portion of Tsunami's cooking before she began eating.

Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other for a moment before they raced to the table and did the same. Scarfing down their food as if it was going to disappear if they left it on their plate for even a second. Len slouched her head as she covered her face with her hand, acting as if she didn't know the two boys devouring their food. Tsunami and Tazuna looking at the two boys as if they were possessed. Inari glaring at all of them in general, not particularly happy of any of them being there, period.

And Kakashi just simply continued eating. Not giving any of them any mind… and never showing his face while anyone was looking.

* * *

"So, is there any particular reason why Inari is so...uncooperative?" Kakashi inquired as he sat there at the table with Tazuna and Tsunami. Naruto and Sasuke still eating, considering how much training Len had put them through, they were still hungry.

"It's because of Gato," Tsunami mumbled as she looked down at the table without really seeing it. Her hands clasped together on the table. Her expression sad.

"A few years ago, a man named Kaiza saved Inari from drowning," Tazuna began. "Before Gato had shown up. Kaiza and Inari became close very quickly after that, and the whole village began to like him, as well. They all looked up to him whenever something went wrong in the village. If something needed to be fixed, he'd fix it for them. If a family didn't have money for food, he'd go out and fish for them so they wouldn't go hungry.

"One day, a massive flood almost destroyed the village," Tazuna continued. "Kaiza had helped everyone by building barricades around their homes using large bags of sand, but there was a problem. The rushing water was pushing the main gate open. If the water managed to break the gate, hundreds of people would have died. Kaiza tied a rope around his waist and dove into the rushing water. When he reached the gate, he wrapped the rope around the gate and the citizens helped pull the gate shut. Preventing the water from getting past the gate. Saving the whole village. He was deemed a hero from that day on."

Kakashi, Len, Naruto, and Sasuke all looked at Tazuna. Naruto appearing to be more into the story than the others. Naruto was always a sucker for heroes. With him wanting to be Hokage, one day, it was no real surprise.

"Shortly after, Gato appeared," Tazuna went on. "Creating all sorts of problems for the village, however, Kaiza did not show signs of fear for Gato. He rebelled against him, and the result was...well…"

"Kaiza was executed in front of the entire village?" Len guessed. "To scare the villagers from ever opposing him?"

Tazuna nodded.

"That's still no reason to be a brat!" Naruto argued. "There are a lot of people out there that have lost a lot more than he has, and they still managed to find a way to never give up in what they believed in! They don't turn and run away!"

"You don't know that!" Tsunami shouted. "How can you possibly understand how Inari feels?!"

"All four of us understand how Inari feels better than you think, Tsunami," Kakashi informed her in a calming voice. Making Tsunami look at the silver-haired jounin. "We all have lost family members at some point in our life. It comes with the territory of being a ninja. In Naruto's case, he lost his family before he could even remember them."

Tsunami looked back down at the table. Tears welling up in her eyes. Tazuna reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder. Kakashi didn't blame Tsunami for wanting to defend her son. After all, she was his mother. But assuming that they didn't understand? That was careless, even for her.

Still...there wasn't much that could be done about that. She was only human, after all.

* * *

Kakashi walked around the perimeter of the house that night, his hands in his pockets as his eyes scanned the area for anything out of place. He had noticed that Len was sitting out on the deck staring up at the night sky, something she did quite often back in Konoha. It wasn't exactly a problem back home, but they were technically in enemy territory, now. Kakashi would have to talk to her about it, but so long as she kept herself on her toes, he was okay with it.

As Kakashi began walking the treeline, something in the corner of his eye caught his attention and he turned his head to see what it was. There, in the tree, he saw a single ANBU knelt in the tree. He had concealed himself quite well. It was hard for Kakashi to see him in the tree, but he hadn't survived three tours in ANBU Black Ops for nothing. Kakashi was still able to spot him, nonetheless. Kakashi squinted his right eye to try to get a better look of the ANBU in question. A little curious as to why an ANBU would be stationed in Wave Country. Especially since they were here on mission. What business would he have around Tazuna's house?

 **Flashback**

 _"Excuse me, Kakashi-senpai," an ANBU wearing a lion mask began just before Squad 7 walked into the mission hall to retrieve their next mission._

 _Kakashi glanced over at the young ANBU. "Hmm? Yes?"_

 _"Sorry for the delay, but this was found in the wreckage of your clan compound," the ANBU informed him, handing him what appeared to be a box wrapped in some kind of burgundy cloth._

 _Kakashi looked at the object in the ANBU's hand with confusion before he took it. Removing the cloth from the box, his eye widened the moment he saw the object._

 _It was a glass case. Inside, resting on what appeared to be purple velvet, was the broken White Sabre. Sakumo's chakra blade which he forged, himself. Claiming the Phoenix Spirit had helped him come up with its design to utilize his White Chakra. The fact that the ANBU had found it in the compound wreckage was not what surprised Kakashi. What surprised Kakashi was that it was still in its weapon's case Kojaku had put it in after Kakashi had broken the blade. There was no way the case could have survived the wreckage. The blade, sure...but the_ case _…_

 _Kakashi looked up from the object to say something to the ANBU, but the moment his eyes lifted from the box, the ANBU was gone. As if he hadn't even been there. Leaving Kakashi even more confused._

 **End of Flashback**

Staring at the ANBU who was nestled in the tree, Kakashi couldn't help but remember the ANBU who had given him back the White Sabre. Which made Kakashi look suspiciously at the ANBU. This wasn't the first time an ANBU had shown up. There had been an ANBU by the name of Shishimaru who had went to pay Len and him a visit in the hospital. Granted, Kakashi hadn't been there, at the time, but he not only heard about how Shishimaru had left Len flowers in hopes that they would help her get better. Shishimaru had also sought Kakashi out, personally, to inform him of what the doctors had tried to do to Len while he was out house hunting.

And then just before they had gotten this supposed C-rank mission that turned out to be an A-rank, another ANBU...wearing _the same lion mask_ showed up to give Kakashi the White Sabre. And now, there was again an ANBU watching Tazuna's house…

Something was definitely up…

 _I_ will _get to the bottom of this!_ Kakashi thought as he glared at the hidden ANBU.

* * *

Len sat on the deck around the house. Staring up at the stars as she kicked her feet every so often. Thinking about what they would have to do once Zabuza was fully recovered.

One of them would have to stay behind at the house to keep Tazuna's family safe. One or two Naruto clones left behind as both backup and information relay back to the creator wouldn't be a half bad idea either for that matter. Kakashi wouldn't really want her anywhere near Zabuza. Considering he is an elite jounin, and the fact that she is Kakashi's niece-and one of his only family left alive-he'd want her as far away from the rogue-nin as possible. She could handle protecting Inari and Tsunami...even if Inari was turning out to be a brat.

That left Naruto and Sasuke handling both protecting the bridge builder and fighting against Zabuza with Kakashi if Tazuna was ambushed at the bridge...or on his way to said bridge. There was also a chance that they would have to deal with that other one. The one who disguised himself as a hunter nin. There was definitely something off about that kid. What it was exactly she couldn't quite put her finger on it. But she knew there was something.

A splotch of white suddenly appeared in Len's vision. Making her tilt her head back to look up at the house. Seeing Inari sitting in a windowsill as he glared down at her.

"Go back to bed, squirt," Len ordered before she returned her attention back to the stars. "You shouldn't be awake, right now."

"You're never going to win," Inari said in a low voice. He had been spouting nonsense like that since dinner. "So why fight? You all should just go back home."

"So I guess that means you _want_ your grandfather to die," Len interjected. Continuing to look at the stars.

"N-no!" Inari almost shouted.

Len returned her gaze back to Inari. "If we go home, that's _exactly_ what will happen to him. And then you'll be out of both a father and a grandfather. Possibly you and your mother as well, depending on what kind of mood Gato is in. Then what? Are you just going to sit there like a little baby and cry? Or would you stand up and do something useful for once?"

Inari stared at Len with wide eyes. He was surprised that she knew about his father-figure. But, honestly, he shouldn't have been. Tsunami and Tazuna were the ones who told squad seven. Granted, Inari had ran away to his room before he could hear them talk about Kaiza.

"I lost my parents at around your age," Len informed him. "But that didn't stop me from continuing down the path I'd chosen. That didn't stop me from wanting to protect the few people I had left to care about. I'm a shinobi. If I die, then I die. It comes with the job description. No one should be afraid of death…" She turned her gaze down to the water. "What they should fear is living," she added.

* * *

A/N: Thank you all for your reviews.^^ They made me smile.

And a special thanks to Arianna Le Fay, for her suggestions and overall enthusiasm over my story.

Like my story? Please support my writing by becoming my patron at . com. Type in " . com." Then add "/ elderxchildx6" to the end of it and it should take you directly to my page. (Be sure to remove the spacing between everything so that way you can actually get to my account.)


	8. Chapter 7: Water Walking

**Team Tragedy**

 **A Naruto Fanfiction Story**

 **Author: ElderxChildx6, Co-Author/Editor: EDelta88**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. All rights reserved.**

 **Team Tragedy (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

 **Len Hatake (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Water Walking**

Len had been sitting in her tree that was in between Sasuke's and Naruto's most of that day, reading a book while they were trying to tree walk. Occasionally throwing sharp objects of various different kinds at them when they'd take too long at their "break". It reminded them a lot of their sensei. Reading his book while fighting with them on the bell test...it was infuriating.

Naruto and Len had been working on tree climbing most of the afternoon. Sasuke had stormed off not too long ago to blow off some steam over the fact that he was barely able to keep Naruto off of his heels in the training exercise, as well as Len practically playing Kakashi for the duration of the training. Len allowed him to run off for a while. It would probably hinder him being able to accomplish it in three days, but getting himself overly frustrated over it wasn't going to help him anymore than walking away for a little while would.

Naruto had his own frustrations, but they weren't as bad as Sasuke's, and Naruto was more frustrated with Len's methods than anything else. Something he always got over easily.

It was a few hours before Sasuke came back to where Naruto and Len were at. His expression softer and seeming deep in thought about something. Len cocked an eyebrow when she saw him.

"Hey, Naruto," Len called out to the obnoxious blond. "Take a break for a little bit."

"Finally~!" Naruto exclaimed as he fell on his back onto the grass. Panting as he closed his eyes. Ready to take a nap.

Len walked over to Sasuke, which made the raven-haired boy look up at her. "Hey, Len...when do you think someone is most powerful?"

Len blinked as she looked at her teammate. "What brought this on?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Just answer the question, please."

Len looked at Sasuke for a moment before she looked up at the sky. Contemplating what her answer to Sasuke's question would be. "...When someone has something important to protect," she finally answered.

Sasuke arched an eyebrow, a small frown creasing his lips as he looked at her. "How do you mean?"

"Well," Len began, "think of it like the Hokage. They are ridiculously powerful. Historically they have all gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure the safety of the village when it is in danger and each one that has died did so while transcending their own limitations to ensure their goal was accomplished. That's obviously an extreme example but if you think about it you've probably heard all kinds of stories like it on a small scale. Teammates pulling ridiculous stunts to save each other or a sensei defeating overwhelming opponents to protect his students. Hell, we just went toe to toe against the freaking Kiri no Kijin to save Uncle Kakashi-baka. Make sense?"

"Hn," Sasuke grunted as he stared thoughtfully at the ground.

"Come on," Len instructed. "Time to get back to training." She turned her gaze back to Naruto. "Get up, Naruto! Back to tree climbing!"

Naruto groaned before he slowly returned to his feet. Sasuke stared at the two of them before he went back to his tree to start training, once more.

When Sasuke asked Naruto this same question during one of their breaks, Naruto gave him the same thing. That a person is at their strongest when they have someone important to protect. His example mostly revolved around the Yondaime Hokage, however. Bringing up the fact that Minato had defeated the Kyuubi no Kitsune and saved the village. Granted, the act had costed him his life, but Naruto had a strange obsession with the Yondaime Hokage. He also gave himself as an example. If anything bad ever happened to Len, he would go through great lengths to make sure it didn't happen again. It was partially apparent by how he treated anyone who'd pick on her when growing up. Always there to defend her and ready to kick ass and take names.

Still, after hearing Naruto give him his answer and his examples, Naruto didn't seem as stupid as he had thought.

Training continued as usual. Len sitting at a certain height in the tree, reading a book, while Naruto and Sasuke did their best to try and reach the height she was at in their respective tree. After so many attempts and eventually making it to the height she was at, She would go higher up in the tree. It had been going for several hours. Naruto and Sasuke only getting about two minute breaks before they were suddenly dodging various types of shuriken as Len's message of them resting long enough.

Frankly, Len was starting to get on Naruto and Sasuke's nerves.

"Come on, you two," Len called down as she turned the page. Continuing to read. "You're not going to get this technique finished at the pace you're going."

Naruto and Sasuke glared up at their platinum blonde comrade sitting up in the tree. Then they each shared a glance at each other.

"Think it's time?" Naruto demanded as he looked at the raven-haired boy next to him.

Sasuke nodded before he returned his gaze up to their female teammate. Naruto and Sasuke then proceeded to race up their tree. Kunai in hand. They had almost reached the height that Len was at in her own tree. Having constantly increased the height that entire time they had been training whenever they would reach that height in question she was at.

It didn't take long. Sasuke got to a point just below where Len was kick back with her book before he quickly pushed off the tree at her branch. Instantly crashing into her and causing both of them to fall out of the tree. Naruto was just in time to make sure their crash to the ground was cushioned by a heaping pile of clones. The book Len had been reading flying out of her hand and landing on the ground a few feet away. Out of her reach.

Sasuke quickly pinned Len. His arms tucking under her arms before his hands met behind her head. His legs wrapping around hers so she couldn't kick. "Now!" Sasuke yelled.

Instantly, a swarm of Naruto clones burst out of the bushes all around them. Tickling Len at all of her ticklish spots at once. One for each arm. One for each leg, and the original for her stomach. Meanwhile, Len was laughing hysterically as she squirmed in Sasuke's hold, trying desperately to get away from them.

"Ahahahahahah! N-no f-fair! Hehehehehe!" Len stammered between giggles.

"Serves you right!" One Naruto shouted. Continuing his tickle torture.

"Mock us while we try to accomplish your insane demands for this training!" Another Naruto said. Still tickling the platinum blonde.

All the while, Sasuke was mildly surprised by how much he was enjoying this little stunt. It was actually quite… fun? The planning, the anticipation, the fact that he was actually able to get the jump on her. It was such a rush! Now, the pinning her down while she squirmed and shrieked and laughed but just could not manage to get away.

This was… nice.

"O-okay!" Len shrieked. "O-okay! Y-you w-win! N-now let m-me g-go!"

"Oh, no!" Naruto protested as he continued tickling her. "You don't get to get away that easy!"

"Truce!" Len yelled. "White flag!" – Another fit of laughs – "Game over!"

"NEVER!" All the Narutos shout as they tickle her more.

It was a good few minutes before Len was able to escape and another half hour of playful roughhousing before they got back to work and nightfall before Naruto, Len, and Sasuke returned to Tazuna's house. Naruto and Sasuke stuffing their faces at dinner like it was going to be their last meal, like always, due to how hard Len always pushed them. Giving them an appetite equivalent to a whole pack of wolves, each. Almost as soon as dinner was finished, Naruto went to bed and was almost instantly asleep while Len sat outside, star gazing like always.

The question Sasuke had asked both Naruto and Len earlier was still eating away at him. It had been all day after he got back to training – except for the brief moment where he helped Naruto tickle torture Len. Ever since he ran into that boy in the forest after he had stormed off. That boy that looked _way_ too much like a girl.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke began as he looked up at his squad's leader. Causing the silver-haired jonin to look down at him from his book. "When do you think someone is at their strongest? Len and Naruto have said when someone has something important to protect, but..."

Kakashi looked up towards the sky for a moment. "Hm...well, Len and Naruto both have a point," he informed the raven-haired boy. "Take a mama bear and her cubs. If her cubs are threatened, the mama bear will do anything to protect and save them. Rushing in with a mighty roar and cutting down whoever endangered them. Ready to put her own life on the line just to ensure her young's safety."

"However," Kakashi went on, "there is one other time in a person's life that you could argue them to be at their strongest."

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow as he looked up at Kakashi. "When is that?"

Kakashi looked back to the Uchiha boy. "A person is also at their strongest, their most dangerous, when they have nothing left to lose," he answered somberly.

Sasuke continued to stare at Kakashi in slight confusion. Waiting patiently for him to explain.

"When everything is taken from a person," Kakashi started, "that person becomes unstable and unpredictable. Assuming they find a purpose to go on living they will become obsessed with that purpose and will go to any lengths to accomplish whatever that might be. They take risks they would have otherwise avoided. They use tactics they might have never considered. Nothing and no one matters, not even themselves, so long as they achieve their aims. Look at you. Your entire clan was wiped out in a single night. For better or worse your brother did one of the most stupid things imaginable and left you alive with no ties to the world and nothing but vengeance in your heart. It has compelled you to get stronger by any means you have been able to lay your hands on regardless of personal cost. You put yourself in the hospital fairly regularly every since all that because you think that you have nothing left to lose."

Sasuke stood there, frozen. Completely taken aback by Kakashi's words. Realization slowly sinking in.

"But, you have to realize something," Kakashi informed him. "The person with nothing left to lose usually ends up digging two graves. One for the person he's taking revenge on, and one for himself. The one with something important to protect will always be able to return home to everything he laid down his life to protect and to the people he cares about. So in the end, the choice is…"

Sensing movement, Sasuke looked up to find Kakashi's one good eye boring into him.

"Are you going to accept the path your brother laid before you and be the one with nothing left to lose, or will you chose to be the one with something important to protect?" Kakashi asked seriously.

Sasuke continued to stand there. His entire being shaking. He wasn't sure what to say, what to do. It was like his entire life was flashing before his eyes from a different perspective. And he wasn't even sure if he could handle it. Kakashi could see the practical panic in the boy's eyes. The jonin reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Take some time to think it over," Kakashi encouraged, giving his student a firm pat as he went to stand. "I'm sure you'll figure it out and, the kami willing, you have the time to do so… and if you don't, it won't matter," he finished a little too cheerfully.

"Hn," Sasuke snorted, rolling his eyes but appreciating the broken tension.

Maybe he'd sleep on it. That was supposed to help, right?

* * *

It was close to the end of the third day of the tree climbing training. Len had been off with Kakashi to protect the bridge builder. Which left Sasuke and Naruto by themselves to train. It was kinda nice. Not having Len there to mockingly read her book while throwing various types of shuriken at them. It gave Sasuke time to think as he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He knew he was getting it. Considering how often the breaks were coming, it wouldn't be too long before he'd reach the top of the tree. Was Naruto catching up to him, sure. But it was only after so long that Naruto would catch up to his highest point on the trees. It was infuriating, but he couldn't let the loser beat him. He had to reach the top, first.

Thinking about his team – how Len could already perform the technique flawlessly and how Naruto was catching up with him – Sasuke glared up at his tree with new determination. He had to get stronger. He _had_ to. If for nothing else, so they could get through this mission _alive_. He refused to die here.

After a few seconds of focusing his chakra, once more, Sasuke raced up the tree. He went higher and higher. The branches getting thinner and smaller.

 _Just a little more…_ Sasuke thought as he pushed himself to reach for the top of the tree. Until, finally, his obsidian eyes fell on the sky full of clouds with an assortment of orange, red, and even purple as the sun was setting. Sasuke nestled in the branches that, with them being so close together, supported his weight and did not break under him. He sat there panting heavily, before an accomplished smirk spread across his lips.

 _I did it…_ he told himself. _I completed tree climbing in three days…_

Sasuke looked over at the tree next to him. His eyes widened with astonishment as he saw Len sitting there. Reading a book. As if she had been there the whole time.

 _When did–? How did–?_

"Looks like you both completed the training," Len observed as she flipped the page. "Good. That means we'll be on water walking, tomorrow."

"Are you sure Naruto will be _up_ for it?" Sasuke asked, sporting a playful smirk as he continued to pant.

"I heard that you bastard!" Naruto roared as he switched trees and sprinted up at Sasuke…

 _Thud…_

Only to slip up just a few feet from punching his rival in his smug face.

Len glanced up from her book and smirked, before going back to reading. "Naruto, go back to your own tree before I throw more shuriken at you." she ordered, causing Naruto to yelp and scurry back to his previous position.

"What is that book you're reading, anyway?" Sasuke demands.

"It's titled _The Wrath of a Woman Scorned_ by Jiraiya of the Densetsu no Sannin," Len informed him. "If I remember correctly, he's the toad Sennin, to be specific. Also a huge pervert, considering the Icha Icha series...but those books are still good."

Sasuke sweatdropped as he looked at his female teammate. "Seriously?" he deadpanned. "You read those?"

Len glanced up from the book at him. "Considering who my uncle is...yes." She then returned to reading. "They really aren't that bad… I'd suggest reading them before you actually made an opinion about them."

"...What's that book about?" Sasuke inquired. Pointing to the one she's currently reading. Trying to get her back on topic. Not wanting to hear any more about the perverted series both her and her uncle seemed to enjoy.

Len glanced up at Sasuke for a second before she went back to reading. "It's about a girl who...gets mistreated by her village," she answered.

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow. When Len glanced up at him again, seeing his expression, she added, "A ninja village is not a safe place for a little girl if no one comes when she screams."

Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked at Len in surprise. "Wait...are you saying that–?"

Len nodded. "Yes, the protagonist – or rather, the anti-hero – was attacked by her own village. It's sort of a worst case scenario of a self fulfilling prophecy. The people fear she's evil and lash out at her, they put her through all kinds of unspeakable torture to try and break her spirit. The kinds of things that I wouldn't wish on Konoha's worst enemies… with one or two exceptions. But then when they do finally break her she turns into the very 'demon' they feared she was from the start."

"...How does it end?" Sasuke asks in a shaky voice. Not sure if he really wanted to know.

"I can't really say for sure," Len answered. "I haven't finished it, yet. But considering how the plot is going, it wouldn't surprise me if she kills everyone, razes the village to the ground, and salts the earth. To think, Jiraiya wrote this…" she added absently as she went back to reading.

"HAHA! I made it!" Naruto shouted once he finally reached the top of his tree. He blinked as he looked over at Len – who was reading, once more – and Sasuke. "Hey, teme, why are you so pale?"

Sasuke turned his attention over to Naruto. "...It's nothing, dobe," he answered slowly. Focusing on not allowing his voice to show the slight horror he felt at the concept of the story Len was reading.

Len shot a glare over at Sasuke, but considering that it was Naruto who did start it before Sasuke said it, she decided it was best not to really do anything. Naruto had to learn how to get out of the messes he caused on his own. She couldn't always be there to bail him out.

So, snapping her book shut, Len gave the boys a cheerful smile that did absolutely nothing to set them at ease.

Training, though? That she could do. Time to teach her _adorable_ minions to walk on water.

* * *

 **The Next Day...**

"Hey, Len," Sasuke weezed as he laid there on the deck around Tazuna's house. Soaked to the bone as they now worked on water walking. Len still reading her book, standing in the middle of the ocean a ways away from the house. "Can I ask you something?"

"What is it, Sasuke?" Len inquired. Flipping a page and flicking a senbon at him even as she continued reading.

Sasuke's immediate response was to yelp and roll out of the way… right off the deck.

Naruto's response was to laugh.

"You're evil," he groused when he finally managed to get back onto the deck.

"Why thank you for noticing, but I don't think that's quite what you were looking for," she teased.

"Your clan compound," the Uchiha began as he sat up. Looking over at Len in puzzlement. "It caught on fire? Burned to the ground?"

Len nodded, sobering instantly. "But it was no accident," she replied. "It was manmade."

"And you went to the hospital?" Sasuke continued. Cocking an eyebrow as he continued to look at her with confusion.

Again, Len nodded. Her eyes still in the book she was reading. "Yeah. Got out in three days, too."

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow as he looked at her. "How bad were your injuries from the blaze, then?"

Len rolled her eyes before she snapped her book closed and looked over to Sasuke. "If you have time to ask all these questions, Sasuke, you have time to get back on your feet and try again. If you can reach me, _then_ I'll answer." Len turned her gaze over to Naruto and threw her book at him so that way it wouldn't get wet. The book smacking Naruto in the shoulder before it clattered onto the deck. "You, too, Naruto."

"Yeah, yeah…" Naruto grumbled as he rose to his feet.

"Remember, concentrate your chakra to manipulate the surface tension of the water to make it support your weight," Len repeated to them. "You'll have to constantly adjust as you move otherwise you'll sink into the water."

Sasuke rose to his feet as well. Glaring at Len. "I think she needs another lesson…" he mumbles.

"We'll wait until she's out of the water," Naruto agreed. "Tomorrow before training actually starts. I'll set a few traps for her."

Sasuke nodded ever so slightly. Then they both began to focus their chakra to their feet before they jumped off the deck and started charging towards her. Naruto slowly sinking with each step he took until he ultimately fell completely into the water half way towards Len. Sasuke, on the other hand, managed to stay on the water surface. His eyes fixed on Len as he zipped over to her.

Len's eyes widen as she watches Sasuke before he suddenly jumps at her and tackles her into the water. His arms wrapping around her as they are suddenly submerged before Sasuke pulls her with him back up to the water's surface where they gasp for air. Sasuke's arm still around Len's shoulders as he smirks down at her.

"So, about the injuries you sustained…" Sasuke trailed off.

Len brought her hand up and splashed the raven-haired genin in the face. "You cheated."

"And we're ninja," Sasuke deadpanned. "Now talk. How severe were your injuries? You and Naruto both say you were in the hospital for three days. What could you have possibly needed to see a doctor for that would have taken you three days to heal from?"

"...I had suffered third- and fourth-degree burns all over my body," Len informed him. "I also had slight irritation in my lungs from the smoke."

Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked at her. Clearly, this was not what he was expecting. "...What?" the question came out so quiet, Len wasn't sure if she had actually heard him.

"Yeah…"Len trailed off. Arching an eyebrow as she looked at him. "Third- and fourth-degree burns. The doctors were weird about it. It's why I don't like going to hospitals. Most of the doctors and nurses want to have me as a lab rat to run tests on. So I don't go to hospitals unless there's absolutely no way I can't treat my injuries, myself."

 **Flashback**

 _-Six Years Ago-_

 _"I can't believe it!" The female doctor said in surprise as she looked at Len's burns after uncovering them from the bandages._

 _From the time Len had received the burns up until when the doctor had unwrapped them that next morning, the six-year-old Hatake survivor's third- and fourth-degree burns had healed to a second- and third-degree. In just a matter of eight hours. A child her age with burns as severe as Len's had been, there was little to no chance of surviving, let alone recovering. A child's immune system wasn't as top notch as a young adult's. Even if the child had survived, it would have taken longer than eight hours for the burns to be reduced._

 _The doctor applied the burn ointment on Len's injuries. Trying to still be as gentle as possible. The fact that Len was even able to still feel pain at this point amazed the doctor. The nerve damage...it was as if there wasn't any. Anyone who went through what she had gone through would have suffered nerve damage. But Len didn't. She still winced when the doctor rubbed in the ointment. Said that the ointment felt cold and was making her burns sting._

 _Then there was the fact that she could speak. The smoke from the blazes should have given her lung damage. Making it difficult for her to breathe without having to cut a secondary airway for her to be able to breathe through. But Len was fine. Her throat was only slightly irritated when she had came in that night. And now, her voice didn't even sound horse, at all. Len was truly an extraordinary child._

 _...Maybe_ too _extraordinary._

 _"What do you think we should do?" a male doctor asked to the female who had reapplied the ointment and re-bandaged Len's burns._

 _"We should probably take samples of her blood when she recovers," the female doctor whispered to the male. "If we can find a way to replicate how fast she is healing, we can probably save others in the future."_

 _"I will put an end to that, right now," Kakashi suddenly chimed in. Making both of the doctors jump and quickly look at the ANBU standing behind them. "Len is still too young to make any medical decisions, herself, with a living relative who is an adult still around to be her legal guardian._

 _"I will put this as politely as possible," Kakashi went on. His voice becoming colder with each word that escaped his lips from under his mask. "The reasons behind her fast recovery is because of clan secrets, and nothing more. Therefore, if you come anywhere near my niece with the intention of turning her into a test subject, you will regret it."_

* * *

 _"And, what is your name, if I may ask?" the nurse at the desk inquired as she looked at the short-silver haired ANBU standing there in front of her. Wearing his lion mask to keep his face hidden; holding a vase of flowers. His green eyes the only thing visible on his face._

 _"Shishimaru," the ANBU replied. "I was one of Kakashi's teammates on a few of his missions outside of Konoha. I came to give my condolences to him and his niece. And to deliver these flowers to help Len recover faster."_

 _The nurse stared at the ANBU for a long moment. "Very well, then," the nurse told him. "Her room is just down the hall, second room on the left. Kakashi is not in, at the moment, but you can talk with Len for a little while if she is not sleeping. I'll give you ten minutes from the moment you step into her room."_

 _Shishimaru bowed his head in thanks. "Thank you," he said before he turned and walked down the hall._

 _Once the silver haired ANBU found Len's hospital room, he walked inside. Len was asleep, so there wasn't going to be any exchanging of words. Which was fine. Shishimaru didn't really want to talk to the girl, anyway. If anything, he had hoped to talk to Kakashi. To give him at least some peace of mind. Since he wasn't here, however, he was going to have to make due with the situation before him._

 _Shishimaru walked over to the table at the foot of Len's bed and set the vase of flowers down. The flowers were purple Irises, accented with blue Forget-Me-Nots. They sat in a dark blue and purple swirled vase that wasn't see-through. There was also no card. No indication that he had been there except that the flowers would now be in the room. He didn't exactly feel he needed to if Kakashi were there, but since he wasn't, there wasn't really much he could do about it, at this point._

 _With his delivery completed, Shishimaru turned around and began to leave the room so Len could rest in peace and not freak out that a stranger was in her room. She would know who the flowers were from. She wouldn't know, right away, but she'd figure it out eventually._

 _Something stopped him before he could leave, however._

 _Just as Shishimaru was about to step out of the room, a doctor showed up with a few empty syringes in his hand. The doctor seeming surprised that there had been someone in Len's room. Appearing nervous that he was caught with the needles about to head into the room._

 _Instantly, Shishimaru glared down at the doctor. "And what are you doing?" he demanded in a level tone._

" _Len...she...we need to run some tests. Make sure her cholesterol levels are normal...and…" The doctor was stumbling. Trying to find a perfect excuse._

" _Did Kakashi authorize you to run these tests?" Shishimaru interrogated. Each second that went by, the anger was becoming more and more apparent from the young ANBU._

" _Y-ye-yes…" the doctor stammered._

 _Instantly, Shishimaru's hand was on the doctor's throat. Lifting him up in the air. The syringes that were in the doctor's hand fell to the floor with a clattering sound as his hands were now working on trying to loosen the ANBU's grip so he could breathe. A few of the nurses stared at the two in horror. Unable to move._

" _Do I have to protect Konoha citizens from each other, now?!" Shishimaru asked coldly. His green eyes alight with rage and anger. "One look at the girl can tell you her cholesterol levels are fine! Animaru told me to watch out for people like you! The reason she's recovering so quickly is_ because _of clan secrets! Kakashi has told you of this, correct?!"_

" _Y-yes!" the doctor, now struggling to simply take in oxygen, replied._

" _Then you are not allowed to take even a drop of Hatake Len's blood!" Shishimaru growled, his voice low and dangerous. "If you attempt to try, and I hear about it from Kakashi-senpai, later – assuming he lets you live – I will find you, and I will kill you after I've made you regret the day you were even born! Interfering with clan secrets without expressed and written permission is considered an act of treason and I assure you I can and will eliminate traitors just as easily as I eliminate our enemies... You would do well to remember that. Now, have I made myself clear?"_

 _If the terrified nod was anything to go by, Shishimaru had made himself abundantly clear._

 _And with that, Shishimaru released the doctor who crumpled to the floor. Coughing and rubbing his neck to ease the stinging he felt. Shishimaru's gaze quickly turned to the direction of the nurses who had been watching the whole scene transpire. "This includes all the hospitals staff. No tests are allowed to be done on Hatake Len without Hatake Kakashi's direct permission. And if I hear even a whisper of it, you will be lucky if the entire staff is not fired when I'm done with you."_

" _You can't do that!" One of the nurses argued._

" _Can't I?" Shishimaru asked in a snide tone. "I'll put it to you this way, if our hospital staff can't be trusted to protect the secrets of our village something_ will _be done about it. So, if I hear even a rumor about any one of you running these tests you wish to perform on Len, this matter will not be going to the Hokage. It will be going to_ Danzo _-_ jisama, _and he is very… thorough, when it comes to threats to Konoha. So really, being fired will be the least of your worries, won't it?"_

 _Silence fell over the hall for a long moment. Feeling like hours were going by as they all looked at the ANBU in horror._

" _That's what I thought," Shishimaru snarled. "Now...leave the child be. I will be watching you all very closely from now on. That is, assuming any of you are still here once I tell Kakashi-senpai."_

 _With that, the young ANBU turned and walked out of the hospital. Leaving the entire staff shaken and uneasy._

 **End of Flashback**

Sasuke continued to stare at Len with astonishment. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The fact that she was able to recover from such burns within such a short amount of time. It shouldn't have been possible. Especially for a six-year-old girl. How could it have happened?

"Um...Sasuke…" Len trailed off as she looked up at him. "You can let me go, now. I do know how to swim."

Sasuke slowly released Len and backed away from her. Still in shock over the information that had been given to him about his teammate. Len looked at him for a moment before she put her hands on the water's surface and pulled herself up out of the water. Back to walking on top of the large mass of liquid before she began walking back over to the deck. A confused expression on her face.

At least it was now understandable as to why she didn't like going to hospitals…

Training continued as normal...well, normal for Naruto, anyway. Sasuke was taken aback by the information he had learned about Len's injuries she had sustained back in the fire. Third- and fourth-degree burns didn't just heal in three days. Especially for a six-year-old child. And if the child did miraculously survive, there would have been scarring. Proof that such burns had existed on the person's body. And yet there was none. Len was supposedly covered from head to toe in these intense burns, and yet there was not even a blemish on her flawless features.

Well, from what he could see of the skin that was exposed...in fact, there was no scarring on her shins from when she had taken the self-abuse she inflicted on herself. How was that even possible?

Sasuke's distraction of what Len had told him did make him falter a little in his training, but at the end of the day, he was able to stand on the water's surface like Len, while Naruto was up to his ankles in water. Feeling a little triumphant with the training, they returned inside and had dinner, like usual. Inari seemed abnormally quiet. His usual outbursts at dinner seemed to have stopped. Kakashi wondered if it was his late-night talks with Len that had seemed to shut him up, but he wasn't entirely sure.

The next day, Naruto went with Kakashi to follow Tazuna to the bridge and be his bodyguards. Leaving Len and Sasuke at the house to watch over Inari and Tsunami, as well as train more on water walking. Kakashi was amazed by Sasuke's and even Naruto's progress. He didn't show it, of course. But Len could tell that he was by the way he'd smile at them.

Naruto had given Sasuke the okay that the traps for Len were set before he left. They weren't anything too dangerous. Just stuff to tie her up so that Sasuke didn't have to worry about pinning her down, himself, to teach her the lesson.

Unfortunately, that's not how it played out. And Sasuke wondered if this was Naruto's plan from the start when he set up the traps.

When Len activated the trap, Not only was she tied up, but so was Sasuke. They stared at each other in surprise. Their faces inches from each other. After a few minutes, Len's eyes narrowed in slight irritation.

"It's Tuesday...isn't it?" Len asked as she looked at her raven-haired comrade.

"...Yup," Sasuke replied after a short second. Needing to remember what day it was.

"I'm gonna kill him," Len growled.

Sasuke chuckled. "I'd pay to see that."

"Shut up!" Len snapped. "You're supposed to be training!"

"Serves you right," Sasuke told her.

Suddenly, she wasn't there, anymore. Making Sasuke blink. The rope that had been used to tie them together fell to the ground with Len no longer there. Sasuke looked around before he spotted Len out on the water. How she had managed to do that, Sasuke didn't know. Especially considering he hadn't felt her use handsigns at all in the course of them being tied together.

"Come on, Sasuke," Len called as she looked at him. "You got actually walking down. Now lets see if you can fight while on the water."

Sasuke rolled his eyes before he walked over to the edge of the deck. "You do realize that we have never beaten each other in the spars, right?" he called back. "What makes you think we won't accidentally render ourselves unconscious while on the water's surface? Then we'd be screwed."

"We're not going that far in this, Sasuke," Len informed him. "We're only going for ten minutes the moment you step onto the water. Now come on! It's just to ensure you won't fall while fighting. No weapons, though. We'll save that for tomorrow."

Sasuke rolled his eyes before he concentrated his chakra to his feet. After a few minutes, he jumped onto the water and started charging towards Len. Len watched the Uchiha boy run at her before she quickly brought her hand up and caught Sasuke's punch. It was always odd to her. Looking at Sasuke while he fought. His eyes were always distant. Always seeming to stare off at something else, even though his eyes were technically on her. His face always seeming to contort into a level of rage that didn't seem to be directed at her, but at whatever his eyes were actually seeing.

Len wondered if, instead of seeing her, he was seeing whoever murdered his clan. It would certainly make things a little more understandable. Why he'd look like that as they'd fight together. It didn't always happen, but it did happen more times than it didn't.

It always happened when Len and Sasuke would spar, though. He'd start off seeing whatever he was seeing in his mind. His anger flaring as they'd fight together. But as the spar went on. As he began to see the fact that someone was keeping up with him, it was almost like the fog lifted from his eyes. He'd _see_ her, and the anger would evaporate from his features...slightly. He'd still appear irritated, but not on the same level as he had been in the start of the spar.

* * *

The next few days went by quickly. Naruto and Sasuke worked on their water walking until Len felt that they were at least good enough to handle themselves against Zabuza. When the day finally came where they expected to see Zabuza, Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi all went with Tazuna to the bridge. Len stayed behind with two Naruto clones as back up and to relay information back to them if a fight broke out. Len wasn't happy that she was being left behind to house-sit, but she understood that Tsunami and Inari needed to be protected as well, and that Kakashi didn't want what was left of his family being anywhere near Zabuza if he could help it.

Len sat in the family room, reading her book. Occasionally grimacing at the descriptions of what the anti-hero in the story would do to her enemies. Such violence and brutality...such anger and sadness...no one should ever go through what she went through. No one should go through what she was putting them through. This story was just all around tragic…

A sudden scream made Len's eyes widen and snap her book closed. Tossing it onto the coffee table before she darted into the kitchen where she knew Tsunami was. Inari was in the dining room. One of the Naruto clones was there, standing over an unconscious attacker that was at Tsunami's feet in the kitchen. The man with semi-long grey hair. wearing a blue jacket with a lot of pockets and brown shorts.

Len smirked as the Naruto clone turned to look at her. "Good job, Naruto."

Naruto clone flashed her a smile before it quickly faded. His eyes wide with shock. "Len, look out!"

Len whipped around and quickly thrusted the heel of her hand up at the man's nose before she grabbed Inari and jumped back to where Tsunami and Naruto were. Tsunami quickly wrapping her arms around her son.

"That hurt!" The man grumbled as he held his nose. "You fucking bitch!"

This man appeared more muscular than the other one. He wasn't wearing a shirt, either, so it was easier to see. He had tattoos all over his left shoulder and pectoral. The tattoos even running down his left arm to his wrist. Bandages wrapped around his torso were slightly visible under his purple checkered... _is that a battle skirt?_ He had a patch over his right eye, and his brown hair was tied back into what looked like three ponytails – one on the back of his head and two down by the base of his neck.

The man glared at Len as he removed his hand from his bloodied nose. "I'm going to kill you!"

Len smirked as she pulled out a kunai. "I'd love to see you try," she told him. "Gato must be running out of men to spare if he sent you two to deal with us."

"Why you–!" The burly man shouted.

"Naruto, stay here and make sure that one doesn't try anything, again," Len tells him. Pointing down at the unconscious one at Tsunami and Inari's feet.

Naruto clone smirks as he looks at Len. "No problem."

And with that, Len jumped towards the burly man in front of her. Her dark blue eyes alight with rage.

* * *

A/N: _The Wrath of a Woman Scorned_ is actually a fanfiction story my boyfriend (who is also co-author/editor to my fanfiction) is writing. I asked him permission to reference it in my story, and he approved. If you wish to read it, go to his profile and find the one with a picture of a red-headed Naruko as the cover. that's his story. His ID is 1177556.

Like my story? Please support my writing by becoming my patron at . com. Type in " . com." Then add "/ elderxchildx6" to the end of it and it should take you directly to my page. (Be sure to remove the spacing between everything so that way you can actually get to my account.)


	9. Chapter 8: Battle at the Bridge

**Team Tragedy**

 **A Naruto Fanfiction**

 **Author: ElderxChildx6 Co-Author/Editor: EDelta88**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. All rights reserved.**

 **Team Tragedy (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

 **Len Hatake (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Battle at the Bridge**

The fight on the bridge had gone on for a _very_ long time. Three Naruto clones stayed close to Tazuna while Kakashi dealt with Zabuza and the boys faced off with the imposter.

The fight had been long and very difficult. Sasuke was getting pelted by senbon to the point that, had the situation been any less dire, Naruto would have been sorely tempted to make several jokes about how Sasuke's hedgehog based fashion statement. As it was, it was a near thing.

Naruto meanwhile had been circling the house of mirrors that Zabuza's accomplice had created, using a liberal applications of clones and explosives to provide enough of a distraction to keep Sasuke alive much to Tazuna's dismay. The poor bridge would never be the same… until Tazuna fixed it, of course.

As the fight continued, however, Naruto suddenly seemed to stop as his eyes widened with horror. His clones even staring down at the ground in fear as they stood around Tazuna. Sasuke, noticing this, looked at his teammate with confusion.

"Naruto, I hope you don't plan on standing there like that forever!" Sasuke called. "This guy isn't exactly easy to deal with over here!"

Naruto lifts his terror-filled gaze to look up at the raven-haired boy encircled in the mirrors. "...Gato sent someone to attack the house." he trailed off in a strained voice.

Sasuke looked at Naruto with even more puzzlement for a brief moment as he dodged another series of senbon before his eyes suddenly widened in realization.

"What happened?" Sasuke demanded, absently making note of the way their opponent had paused to listen to them.

"I don't know," Naruto replied nervously. "I think it only just happened. My second clone hasn't popped yet. That's a good thing right?"

"...It's going to have to be," Sasuke informed him. "There's not much we can do until we're done here."

"An interesting choice of words," the rogue hunter said in a calming tone. "Are you sure that you do not want to worry about this Len? Hearing those words makes it seem like you don't care, even though your reaction to hearing the news says otherwise."

Sasuke glared up at all the reflections of the rogue hunter. "Just because I said that, doesn't mean anything!" he growled.

"Oh?" The rogue hunter began, sounding amused. "Does that mean you do care?"

"How about you stop hiding behind those damn mirrors like the coward you're being and I'll _show_ you!" Sasuke roared.

"Relinquishing an overwhelming disadvantage would be the very height of idiocy," the impostor deadpanned, seeming quite… unimpressed.

"And yet you pause from attacking when you know I'm distracted to listen in on my conversation with my teammate," Sasuke shot back. "Any other shinobi would have taken full advantage of the distraction and unleashed a barrage of attacks on their opponent. So why didn't you?"

"Why not? I am not being paid to kill you or your friends. I need only occupy you until Zabuza-sama has dealt with the bridge builder and then we can be on our way, killing you serves no purpose," the masked boy explained. Not that he would admit to such a blunder if it had indeed been the case but the gennin didn't need to know that.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were surprised to hear the information my teammate provided," Sasuke countered hotly as a devilish smirk spread across his features. "Does that mean Gato left out some information from you?"

"It was not any associate of ours that attacked your friend," the boy confirmed. "That said, it is not uncommon for one of our employers to act without informing us." Though, considering Gato's previous behavior… it may yet be cause for worry.

"Whatever you say…" Sasuke trailed off with a growl.

"Can we just get this finished so we can get back to Len, already!?" Naruto shouted from outside the dome of mirrors.

"I would really prefer you didn't," the boy replied. "While I sympathize with your situation, it's much more simple to keep you both here away from the bridge builder."

Naruto growled with irritation. "Of course you would!"

"But I wonder what would happen if Kakashi-sensei killed your precious _Zabuza-sama_ ," Sasuke said through clenched teeth.

"I find that unlikely given that we are quite literally in Zabuza-sama's element..." the boy replied, though with less conviction than he had given his previous statements. Given Hatake Kakashi's reputation… perhaps he _should_ end this and aide Zabuza-sama.

"And thanks to Kakashi-sensei's Sharingan Eye, he's technically in his element, as well," Naruto shot back.

"...You Konoha shinobi are so strange," the faux Kiri ninja observed with a curious cock of his head. "You have however brought up a decent point. I should be helping Zabuza-sama deal with Hatake-san… I do not suppose I can convince you to surrender?"

"Hell no!" Sasuke growled. Glaring at every image of the Kiri ninja he could see without having to turn his head.

"Not a chance!" Naruto shouted.

"Pity," the boy sighed before flickering out of his mirrors in a hail of senbon.

 _Shit, not fast enough,_ Sasuke thought as he managed to dodge the worst of the barrage but felt the telltale sting of needles through his shoulders. _If only I could react faster but there's no time. I need..._ Then he blinked, feeling like an idiot. "Oi, dobe! I could use a few meat shields in here if you don't mind!" he called deflecting another brace of senbon even as he felt another two stab into his leg.

Three more clones _poofed_ into existence and raced inside the dome. Deflecting a few of the senbon that were thrown at them.

 _Poof!_

 _Poof!_

 _Poof!_

"The way you spam those things in spars and you pull out three in a life or death situation!? What the fuck Naruto?!" Sasuke squawked… his potty mouth giving some indication of just how stressed he was at the moment.

"YOU SAID A FEW, SPIKEY!" Naruto yelled back. "SO I SENT A FEW! YOU WANT AN ARMY, YOU NEED TO SPECIFY THAT!"

"You want specifics you nit picking nit wit?! Fine! I want the closest thing to a battalion you can manage and I want it yesterday!" Sasuke yelled… his temper slightly influenced by his attempts to cosplay as a porcupine.

Suddenly, as the sounds of multiple _poofs_ are heard in the background, a good twenty Naruto clones appear inside the dome. With three more seeming to pile in whenever one was destroyed.

"THAT BETTER?!" The real Naruto called from outside of the dome.

"I said a legion! Not a platoon you bleach blond pea brain!" Sasuke yelled back even as he used the distraction of the additional clones to buy time while he attempted to locate his opponent.

"Well soooorry! If someone hadn't been a dumbass bastard and gotten himself caught I'd just blow this thing to hell but nooo~" Naruto sniped. "Someone just haaad to run in and solo the dungeon boss like a noob!"

"What the fuck are you even talking about?!" Sasuke called out.

"Wonderous things beyond your plebeian comprehension!" Naruto answered.

"...Very strange indeed," the faux hunter nin corrected as he watched the boys continue to bicker.

Sasuke continued to look around as he dodged the senbon. It was easier now that Naruto's clones were able to take most of them, instead. _Faster, Sasuke!_ he growled in his thoughts. _You have to be faster!_

His eyes seemed to flicker back and forth between black and a crimson color as he tried to keep up with the rogue nin's movements.

'I can almost… there!' he thought, grinning viciously as he sped through his favorite set of hand seals. "Gokakyu no jutsu!"

"What?!" the imposter cried in surprise as he just barely dodged the fireball. _He wasn't aiming for the mirrors. That was meant for me! But how? The human eye isn't capable of tracking anything going at the sort of speeds I'm…_ he wondered only for his thoughts to trail off as he noticed something strange about his opponent's eyes. "Ah, I see… so he is part of _that_ clan. How tragic," he mused.

Sasuke glared at all the rogue nin images in front of him. "Shut up and fight me!" he shouted challengingly. "You no longer have the high ground!"

"Well, technically–"

"Shut UP, Naruto!" Sasuke roared.

"I sincerely wish you hadn't done that, Sasuke-kun," the hunter sighed, sounding genuinely depressed. "I am afraid that, now that you have acquired those eyes, I can no longer afford to drag out our fight."

Sasuke stiffened. "What?"

"I cannot risk stalling when there is the chance you will be able to catch me and jeopardize our mission," the boy explained as he readied several hand-fulls of senbon. "For what it's worth, I _am_ sorry."

" _Sasuke move!"_ Naruto screamed, sounding panicked as the air filled with the sound of hundreds of shadow clones coming into existence.

It wasn't enough.

Even with his newly awakened Sharingan and Naruto's personal army running interference the faux hunter nin was cutting through the clones with alarming ease and Sasuke wasn't fast enough to dodge all of the senbon that got through.

Suddenly, a Kunai with an exploding tag attached to it zipped out of the mist, smacking the hunter nin on his mask.

 _Boom!_

When the smoke cleared, the hunter nin was back in the mirrors. His mask crumbling off of his face.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked up at the hunter nin that he had been fighting. "You?" he gasped as he studied his opponent's face. It had been that boy...the one he talked to when he was tree walking with Len and Naruto.

"Nicely done," Haku said as he pulled out more senbon. "But it won't happen, again."

"Bring it," Sasuke snarled, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his kunai. Naruto's distraction had been a lucky shot and they all knew it. So was he screwed? Probably. Was he going to admit it? Fuck no. He was going to die with a cocky smirk on his face and one last witty jab ringing in his opponent's head for the rest of ever… just as soon as he figured out what to say.

Without another word Haku leaped from his mirrors, running through a set of hand seals as water gathered in the air…

Only to change jutsu mid-motion and replace himself with a large shard of ice before ducking back into a mirror, dodging kunai all the way.

"Naruto, I don't know how you're doing that but whatever you do? Don't stop!" Sasuke called, the tension in his shoulders lessening just a little. Once was luck. Twice? A coincidence. But Naruto had hit their opponent once already and come close twice more.

"What?" Naruto called back confusedly. "I'm not doing any of this. I thought that was you!"

Sasuke blinked. "You're not throwing those?"

"I appreciate the vote of confidence but when the hell have I ever been _that_ accurate?"

 _That's right,_ Sasuke thought. He hadn't even been close to being able to track Haku's movements before awakening his sharingan. So that would mean… _But it can't be sensei,_ he reasoned as he watched Haku scan the mist around them. Kakashi would have just ended the fight rather than throw a few kunai. _So then who–_ Sasuke wondered only for his eyes to go wide as something large and blindingly white appeared out of the mist...

And slammed directly into the mirror Haku was hiding in with the force of a meteor.

 _That was… that was the Gokakyu no jutsu,_ Sasuke thought, bewildered. But it had been white. Katon jutsu weren't white.

What in all the hells was going on?

* * *

A/N: Okay, so I know what at least one of you is thinking. Unfortunately, this is NOT the last chapter for the Wave arc. This chapter is really difficult, right now, and my boyfriend suggested that, since I do have a deadline to keep up with, to just post the chapter as it is, now, and then save the end for the next chapter that will be posted next Thursday or the Thursday after. I am sorry for those of you who were looking forward to this being the last chapter for the Wave arc and excited for the Chunin Exam chapters. They're going to have to be putt off for just a little bit longer.

Hopefully, the last part will be done quickly and will be posted next Thursday so that way I can get started on the Chunin Exam arc. Most of you are excited for it. And considering I am the author, so am So I'm sorry. I'll try to make it as painless as possible...although I might not succeed considering I couldn't finish the Wave arc in this chapter like I had originally wanted...=3=

Thank you all for your reviews and follows and favorites! They honestly mean the world to me.

If you would like my posts to be more consistent, please become my patron at . It will honestly help out a lot and make it so I can post more regularly. Who knows, if enough people become my patrons, perhaps I'll update twice a week instead of once every week or every other week.;-] Type in " . com." Then add "/ elderxchildx6" to the end of it and it should take you directly to my page. (Be sure to remove the spacing between everything so that way you can actually get to my account.)


	10. Chapter 9: Gato's Demise

**Team Tragedy**

 **A Naruto Fanfiction**

 **Author: ElderxChildx6 Co-Author/Editor: EDelta88**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. All rights reserved.**

 **Team Tragedy (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

 **Len Hatake (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Gato's Demise**

Haku was blasted out of the mirror he was hiding in by the force of the White Gokakyu that had slammed into it. The sudden explosion causing all of the mirrors to the dome to either shatter or melt. Haku skidding across the bridge, past Naruto, and smacking against the side railing of the bridge.

Haku's vision was becoming blurry. His head was pounding and he was almost positive that his head was bleeding _somewhere_. A concussion was certainly one of many injuries as even the slightest turn of the head caused him excruciating pain and making him feel extremely dizzy.

 _Who did that?_ Haku thought as his blurry gaze scanned around the bridge. _How could I have missed_ –

Suddenly a hail of needles made of ice came flying at Haku. Making his eyes widen when his gaze focused on them. He quickly dove to the left. But because of his concussion giving him a slow reaction time, a few of the ice needles embedded themselves into Haku's right leg. Causing him to cry out in pain.

That was _his_ Jutsu! How could it have been used against him? Hatake Kakashi was busy dealing with Zabuza-sama and the Uchiha boy hadn't awoken his Sharingan in time to have been able to copy it. _Who could have used the jutsu?!_

As Zabuza's and Kakashi's fight continued, Kakashi managed to disable one of the rogue nin's arms with the help of his dog summons. The pain had been uncomfortable as the dogs' fangs sank into his flesh and tore the muscles and nerves, but he managed to swing his sword with his good arm to make the dogs fly back and dismiss themselves from the fight. It was enough that Kakashi needed. The battle wouldn't last much longer. It would have been better if the dogs had disabled both of Zabuza's arms, but Kakashi could manage.

Upon hearing the screams of agony coming from where Naruto and Sasuke were at, Kakashi paused in his fight to glance over towards where his students were. Noticing that it had been the rogue nin who had cried out. Seeing that ice needles were embedded into Haku's leg. There was no way he was going to survive at the rate things seemed to be going.

Zabuza quickly lunged towards Kakashi as the Leaf Jounin was busy analyzing the situation of the kids. However, Kakashi still managed to shunshin away. Even without looking, it seemed his Sharingan allowed him to remain focused on the fight. Zabuza didn't seem the least bit concerned about Haku at all.

"Do you really not care about the boy?" Kakashi inquired as he dodged another attack from Zabuza. "He does seem to think quite highly of you, after all."

"He is nothing more than a tool!" Zabuza growled as he quickly flashed through hand signs. "He understood this when he decided to tag along!"

"How unfortunate…" Kakashi trailed off. Running through hand signs of his own. These hand signs appearing to be different from the set order Zabuza was using. Before he suddenly brought his hand down. Lightning crackling in his hand as if birds were chirping. Zabuza's eyes widened. "It's time we end this…"

And with that, Kakashi charged forward towards Zabuza.

Haku noticed Kakashi's lightning-engulfed hand as it glowed in the mist. His eyes widening in fear, at this point. This was it. Zabuza-sama was going to die. If he didn't get up _right now_ , Kakashi was going to kill him. He couldn't allow that. He _wouldn't_ allow that.

With what little concentration he could muster, Haku quickly shunshined to stand in front of Zabuza. Kakashi-sensei's hand punching through Haku's chest. Within an instant, it was over.

When Kakashi's jutsu subsided, he pulled out his hand from Haku's bloody chest and the corpse fell lifeless to the ground. His eyes already glazing over as they stared at nothing. Zabuza didn't even appear to be the least bit upset about it. Causing Naruto to explode.

"Dude! Are you serious?!" Naruto shouted as he glared at Zabuza. His hand clenching into a fist. "That guy that has been fighting for you dies saving your pointy fanged, browless ass and you can't even show the least bit of sadness for the loss?"

"The boy did as he was supposed to," Zabuza countered. "Why should I shed a tear for what was merely a tool?"

"He may have been a tool, but he respected you," Naruto growled. "He looked up to you. He _cared_ about you! And you're just going to stand there and pretend that his death is meaningless?"

"He knew the risks," Zabuza shot back. "He knew that he might have to die."

"He did," Sasuke said, coldly. "Shinobi aren't measured by how they live, they are measured by how they die. By disrespecting his sacrifice you invalidate your own worth as a shinobi… how fitting."

Zabuza fell silent, his face suddenly blank.

Suddenly, an orb of water came out of nowhere and smacked into Zabuza. Hitting him like a brick as he went stumbling back a few feet. Sasuke and Naruto stared at Zabuza in surprise while Kakashi used Zabuza's stumble to his advantage and lunged at the rogue nin. Stabbing two kunai into Zabuza's shoulder. Disabling his remaining good arm. The other having been mangled by his dog summons a moment before.

"It's over," Kakashi growled.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," a new voice rang out. Causing Kakashi and the others to look over to see Gato and a battalion of men standing behind him. "You see, you still have to go through me."

"So, the infamous Gato finally makes an appearance," Kakashi mumbled. "You know, I imagined you to be a lot... taller."

Gato glared up at Kakashi. His face turning a deep shade of red in absolute fury over Kakashi's words.

"Oh...did I strike a nerve?" Kakashi inquired in a mild sarcastic tone.

"Gato...what are you doing here?" Zabuza demanded. Glaring at the short old man who had hired him.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Zabuza?" Gato shot back with a venomous smirk. "I'm here to finish what you couldn't. You honestly think I'm going to pay you, now, after your failure?"

Zabuza continued to glare at Gato. "Someone, give me a kunai," he ordered with a growl.

"What for?" Sasuke demanded.

"Because I'm going to tear this guy to shreds," Zabuza told the raven-haired boy.

"But you can't use your arms," Naruto informed him. "How do you plan to use a kunai."

"I don't need my arms," Zabuza replied as he chewed through the bandages he had been wearing over his mouth before he turned his attention to Kakashi. "So, how bout that knife, eh Copy Cat?"

Kakashi stared at the rogue nin for a long moment before he tossed up a kunai to him, which Zabuza caught by the hilt with his teeth. "Die well, Momochi."

Zabuza then began to charge toward Gato and the battalion of men behind him. Cutting through each of Gato's men as they came charging at him. As they watched the fight ensue, Sasuke glanced over at Kakashi.

"Hey, sensei," Sasuke began, "wouldn't you say we've already structurally compromised the end of the bridge?"

Kakashi looked over to his student. "Yes...why?"

Sasuke then turned to Naruto, " _Encyclopedia Ninja_ had a section of village bi-laws and missions contracts right?"

"Yeah, why?" Naruto replied, scrunching up his face as the screams of the maimed and dying filled the air at the end up the bridge.

"Wasn't there some kind of allowance or something for damages caused by ninja in the course of doing their job?"

"Insurance actually," Naruto answered, finally understanding where Sasuke was going with this. "It's worked into the cost of our missions. So long as the damages were incurred for or in the process of, completing our mission the village's policy covers the materials and labor costs to complete the repair."

"So if we were to just… explode the rest of the mercenaries when Zabuza finishes. Tazuna would be compensated for the damage, then he and all of his workers would get paid to fix it," Sasuke clarified.

"Yup~" Naruto chirped as he started drawing out… far too many explosives to be legal.

"Sorry Tazuna but it appears that we are going to be making a little more work for you," Sasuke sighed dramatically.

"Somehow I think I'll survive," Tazuna drawled. They were replacing the damaged materials and everyone was getting paid for once? He could deal with that.

After a while of fighting, Zabuza stumbled his way back over to where Haku's dead body was at before he managed to collapse. A fairly decent chunk of the mercenaries having been killed without Zabuza even having to lift a finger. One of his hands landing just a few inches away from Haku's face.

Naruto chuckled evilly as he watched the remaining mercenaries and Gato before sudden explosions took out the end of the bridge they were standing on. Sending all of them plummeting into the ocean. If they survived the fall into the water, they wouldn't survive the thousands of pounds of debris falling on top of them. Gato and his band of thugs were finished.

Naruto and Sasuke, finally finding the time to relax from their exhausting fight, slumped down. Naruto flopping onto his back while Sasuke knelt there. Both of them panting with their eyes closed. Kakashi walked over to them and gave them what they now knew was him smiling. His closed eyes practically dripping with the glee that his mask hid on his face.

"Excellent job, you two," Kakashi praised. "None of us died, today."

Sasuke rolled his eyes before he turned his gaze to Naruto to say something, however Kakashi seemed to beat him to the punch. "Len, you can come out, now."

Hearing this sentence caused both Sasuke and Naruto to blink before they looked toward where Kakashi was staring and watched as Len materialized from the mist. Her navy blue eyes drifting from her squad to the deceased Zabuza and Haku just two feet from them.

" _ **Don't do it, fledging,"**_ the voice in her head told her. " _ **As much as they had redeemed themselves there at the end, it would cause more trouble for you if you do it. Remember, they are mercenaries, themselves."**_

Len closed her eyes before she turned her attention back to her team. Naruto and Sasuke still looking at her with astonishment. Causing her to look at them with confusion.

"What?" she demanded as she looked at them.

"How did–?" Naruto started but couldn't seem to finish. "When did–?"

Len rolled her eyes. "I told your clone not to pop, yet, as I knew it would ruin the surprise that I had gained," she informed the boys before she turned her attention to Kakashi. "Gato had sent some men to the house. Naruto's clones knocked out the first one before one of them popped to inform Naruto that there had been an attack at the house. The remaining clone and I finished them off. Inari and Tsunami are on their way here, I'm assuming. They were going to gather the villagers and drive out Gato and his thugs.

"I rushed on ahead while the Naruto clone followed after Inari and Tsunami," she went on. "Providing cover for Naruto and Sasuke while concealed in the mist. And, well, you know the rest, uncle Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi nodded as he looked at his niece before he placed a hand on her shoulder. "That was good work, Len," he praised. "You have excellent shinobi instincts."

"I am a Hatake," Len said with a smirk. "That and I have you for an uncle."

Kakashi again gave Len what looked like to be a smile that his eyes reflected from what his mask hid.

"Well, it looks like we'll be stuck here for a while," Kakashi informed them. "Mr. Tazuna has to fix the bridge."

Sasuke gave Kakashi a droll stare. "Why don't we just leave the way we came?" he demanded.

"Where's the fun in always doing the same thing over and over?" Kakashi shot back as he fixed his headband back over his implanted eye. "Besides, do you really want to get back to the village that much sooner so we go back to doing those D-rank missions you hate so much, or are you going to want to stay here and drag out one of the only times you'll possibly be leaving the village gates as much as possible? I'd personally choose the latter."

Naruto quickly rose back to his feet as he threw a fist in the air. "We're definitely staying! Believe it!" He quickly turned his attention to Tazuna. "Bridge builder, take as long as you need to fix the bridge. We are in no rush to get home."

Tazuna gave Naruto a droll stare. "I'm so pleased to have your approval," he grumbled sarcastically.

"I'll take care of the bodies," Kakashi informed them. "You three go back to Tazuna's house. I'd say you all deserve to relax and enjoy yourselves as we wait patiently for Tazuna to finish the bridge."

Naruto, Len, and Sasuke all nodded before they turned and began to make their way back to Tazuna's house. Naruto practically skipping on ahead while Len and Sasuke lingered behind. After a few minutes of walking, Len glanced at Sasuke out of the corner of her eye as she smirked devilishly. Sasuke, feeling her gaze on him, knew that something was going to happen. He just knew it.

After a few minutes of walking, they both stopped as Len seemed to have blocked Sasuke's path back to Tazuna's house. The platinum blonde walking slowly in circles around the raven-haired boy.

"Someone's been naughty~" Len cooed, an evil grin playing on her lips as she circled Sasuke like a shark.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sasuke replied, refusing to meet Len's gaze.

"You can't fool me, Uchiha!" she laughed. "You've been reading Icha Icha!"

"What?! No I–"

"Don't try to lie to me! I heard what you said to Zabuza on the bridge, Sa-su-ke-kun," she said, far too sweetly. "You paraphrased a bit but that was a quote straight out of the summary of Icha Icha: Violence!"

"...And so what if I did pick it up? I was curious, and you suggested it, so I skimmed through it to see what was so… Nevermind, why am I even telling you? I don't have to justify this to anyone!"

"Ah-HA! So you're a closet pervert!"

"I'm a teenage boy." Sasuke deadpanned. "There's a difference"

"So you weren't just skimming it? You were reading it for your… needs?"

"What? That's not– I didn't mean–"

"Sasuke's a hentai~ Sasuke's a hentai~" Len sang, dancing out of Sasuke's reach as he went to grab her.

"Shut up!" Sasuke hissed. "Someone might hear you!"

"You know, most boys would be proud that they could make a girl–"

"Shut. Up!"

* * *

A/N: Okay...I'm so done with the Wave Arc. My boyfriend and I have a VERY difficult time writing it. So we're done. So it's officially a time skip to the Chunin Exams. You all better be excited. Wave arc sucks...

Sorry that it's 2510 words long...but at least the Chunin Exams and Invasion arcs will be longer. I can promise you that.

If you would like my posts to be more consistent, please become my patron at . It will honestly help out a lot and make it so I can post more regularly. Who knows, if enough people become my patrons, perhaps I'll update twice a week instead of once every week or every other week.;-] Type in " . com." Then add "/ elderxchildx6" to the end of it and it should take you directly to my page. (Be sure to remove the spacing between everything so that way you can actually get to my account.)


	11. Chapter 10: The Nomination

**Team Tragedy**

 **A Naruto Fanfiction**

 **Author: ElderxChildx6 Co-Author/Editor: EDelta88**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. All rights reserved.**

 **Team Tragedy (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

 **Len Hatake (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: The Nomination**

"Wait. Wait! Hold it!" Naruto cried, repeatedly crossing and waving his arms to get Len to stop. "Back up! Back the holy fuck up!"

"Language!" Len told Naruto sternly as she placed her hands on her hips.

"You just told me Sasuke is a closet perv for hardcore ninja porn and you think I give half a fuck about my expressive vocabulary?!" Naruto laughed. "Fuck that! Get back to the part where you tricked him into admitting it!"

"This… is not going away anytime soon, is it?" Sasuke muttered dejectedly.

"You'll be lucky if it goes away, _ever_ ," Kakashi chuckled, his books nowhere in sight. Who needed literature when he had entertaining gennin to tortu- _amuse_ him?

They had been out of Wave Country for a few days, now. Having been there for at least a week or two so that way Tazuna could finish the bridge. The mini vacation wasn't all that bad. Kakashi had Sasuke and Naruto practice a little more on their water walking while he sparred with Len in front of the boys. Taunting them with the potential they could have if they became masters at water walking. Even though they were good at it, it was best to make sure that they were excellent at it for future encounters. Naruto also pranked both Sasuke and Len a lot as they stayed in Wave, claiming there wasn't much else for him to do that was entertaining to him.

Sasuke for his part had spent most of his time, that wasn't spent training, doing his level best to avoid the combined mischief of his teammates. Namely, avoiding Naruto's many pranks and hiding from Len's quips about his… habits, as much as was humanly possible.

Unfortunately for Sasuke they were now on the road home and there was no way to safely avoid any of his team. A situation that Len was now capitalizing on to shamelessly embarrass him as she finally told Naruto what she had found out.

"I'd say it's about time you read it," Naruto chirped as they walked down the road. "They're really good books."

Sasuke gave Naruto a droll stare. "You mean you actually read those books, Naruto?"

Naruto looked back at Sasuke like he was stupid. "Yes...why wouldn't I?"

"Do you even understand it, Naruto?" Sasuke demanded. Cocking an eyebrow as he looked at the blond male of his team.

"Well...there are certain parts that I don't quite understand…" Naruto admitted. "Like that bit where the girl eats her boyfriend's gym membership... but for the most part, I get the general idea of the story."

Suddenly, the entire rest of the team froze, staring at Naruto in bemused horror.

"Naruto…" Len started. "Where do babies come from?"

"A stork drops them off at their parents' house. Everyone knows that," Naruto said, squinting at his friend. "You feeling alright?"

There was a moment of silence. Then...

"Not it!" Len cried, hopping away from the blonde boy to emphasize her point.

"Not it!" Kakashi rushed as Sasuke began to stammer.

"Wait-What?! Not-oh fuck you both!" Sasuke yelled, glaring bloody murder at the two Hatake. "You're our sensei! This is your job!"

"I'm only certified to train you in the ninja arts," Kakashi deadpanned. "Not teach you how to produce children."

"Seduction and bloodline theft are ninja arts! They're named!" Sasuke argued.

"Really~" Kakashi replied in a singsong voice. "I had no idea! Well, obviously you are more qualified than I on this subject so I order you to give Naruto the talk."

Sasuke's eyes bulged to the size of dinner plates. "Fuck. You!"

"Now, now Sasuke," Kakashi began, waving his hand mockingly at his student. Who knew torturing children was so much fun? "That's insubordination. I'll let it go this time because of your recent trauma due to our mission going horribly awry but if you do it again I'll have to do this formally. That means submitting publically available paperwork listing my orders and the qualifications you possess that justify my reasoning and wouldn't it just be so… _unfortunate_ , if your fan club found out how knowledgeable you are on this particular subject?"

To say Sasuke was horrified would be like saying Naruto liked to occasionally indulge in a single bowl of ramen. All the color-what little color was there to begin with-drained from his face as he looked at Kakashi like he was the bane of his very existence.

Meanwhile, Naruto looked back and forth between Len, Kakashi, and Sasuke. Completely confused by the entire situation to begin with ever since the strange conversation between the three had started. "Um...what are you guys talking about?" he finally asked as he looked at them all with puzzlement.

Sasuke mechanically turned his head slowly towards the obnoxious boy who wasn't too far away from him. He wasn't sure if he could handle this. He wasn't sure if he could handle this, at all. He was almost certain that he was going to die if he had to be the one to tell Naruto anything about sex…

"Go on, Sasuke," Len told him in a singsong voice as she waved her hand at him like she was shooing toward Naruto. "Get the talk out of the way so it's done and over with so you don't have to worry about it so much, anymore."

Sasuke's face suddenly went blank. Fine. They wanted to play it like this? Fine. "One day soon, you won't know when, you won't know where, and you won't know what it will be, but I am going to make both of you regret this on a level you can scarcely comprehend," he told the two Hatake before turning on his heel, snatching Naruto by the collar, and marching off in a random direction as Naruto stumbled awkwardly behind him.

"...Think we took that too far?" Kakashi asked.

Len shrugged. "It's just Sasuke, what's the worst that could happen?"

Kakashi froze. "I thought I told you never to say that!"

Len rolled her eyes. "Oh, give it up you big baby. Your superstitions are completely unfounded. I mean, seriously, what could possibly go wrong?"

A sudden chill ran down Len's spine.

Kakashi glared at her. "Just so we're clear, I blame you for whatever eldritch horror Sasuke unleashes on us."

"Oh come on! What could he poss-"

"SILENCE!" Kakashi roared as he looked down at his niece.

* * *

A few hours later, Squad Seven finally made their way through the village gates of Konoha. One of the Izumo and Kotetsu both looking at Naruto in particular with confusion. The blond boy's face seeming to be stuck into an odd combination of deep contemplation and abject horror. Sasuke, meanwhile, appeared to have a rather smug look on his face, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he whistled a jaunty tune. Len and Kakashi seemed rather suspicious as they constantly glanced back at the two younger males of the team.

"...Okay, I'll bite," Kotestu said as Kakashi handed their papers over to the gate guard and his partner. "What in all the nine rings of Hell happened to those two? Nothing too serious, I hope."

"Uncle Kakashi-sensei blackmailed Sasuke into giving Naruto _The Talk_ ," Len snickered.

"Then shouldn't Uchiha Sasuke look a bit...embarrassed or something?" Kotetsu inquired. "And shouldn't Naruto look more...horrified?"

"Sasuke may or may not have sworn vengeance against both of us," Kakashi replied, glaring at his niece.

"You make it sound like it's all my fault when you went and _ordered_ him to do it," Len shot back.

"I'm not the one who went and popped off _two_ of the phrases that no shinobi should ever say under any circumstances for any reason!" Kakashi shot back.

Izumo paused, looking confused for a second. "Phrases that should… wait she didn't say…"

"Two of them," Kakashi confirmed.

"Huh… well then, good knowing you guys," Izumo sighed.

"Hey, Kakashi can I have your house when you're gone?" Kotetsu asked as he handed their papers back to Kakashi.

"Psht," Sasuke snorted, an evil smirk playing on his lips. "I'm not going to kill them. It would be over too quickly."

"Damn kid, remind me never to get on your bad side," Izumo chuckled.

"The best way to avoid my bad side is to not do anything monumentally stupid," Sasuke told him matter-of-factly.

"Good point," Izumo replied as he looked at the raven-haired boy.

Kotetsu handed Kakashi back his papers. "There you are," he told him. "Well, if you _do_ manage to die, can I have your house?"

Kakashi took the papers from Kotetsu. "I won't be the one dying," he informed the chuunin. "I may not be able to make it out unscathed, but if anyone is going to die for this it's going to be Len. So, no. You can't have my house."

"Oi! Who said I'd be the one dying?!" Len shouted as she watched Kakashi start to walk into the village before quickly following after him.

Naruto and Sasuke both followed closely after their squad members. Sasuke's expression still smug and Naruto still a mixture of terrified and calculative.

* * *

After they reached the mission hall and gave the Hokage their report on the mission details it was back to the dubiously dull drudgery of D-Rank duty for a duration directly derived from a detailed dictatorial directive duly dolled down for dumbass decisions.

Namely, the Hokage was pissed and Squad Seven was grounded.

Sure, Squad Seven performed admirably in the events that took place with the Bridge Builder, however because Tazuna had lied to the village, he was fined for lying and charged the difference in mission. Because the economy was still struggling, Tazuna was put on a payment plan to ensure that Konoha would get their money for the mission's appropriate rank. This also put any future clients outside of Konoha under a magnifying glass to ensure that no other client tried something so dangerously stupid in the future. Each client questioned thoroughly to make sure that the rank the mission would be placed under was the right one.

No one—other than possibly Kakashi, himself—was particularly thrilled over the idea of having to deal with lousy D-Rank missions, but they had mentioned when they had been given the C-Rank mission that they would not complain for a while if given one and, in hindsight, continuing the mission _had_ been monumentally stupid. So...they had to deal with it. Although the whole reason why they had continued the mission in the first place was initially Kakashi's idea, and thus his fault.

As a result, Kakashi was punished just as much as his fellow genin were. The Hokage gave Kakashi his own set of D-Rank missions he had to fulfill after his squad duties were done and over with. Those missions that were given to Kakashi would even make an innocent child cringe, they were so horrifying.

Most of the D-Rank missions that Squad Seven as a whole had to accomplish involved retrieving Tora, again. Sasuke, Len, and Naruto all believing that the Third was giving them this particular mission to torture them for blackmailing him into giving them the C-Rank mission. Another part could be that it was punishment for

In which case, there was going to be hell for him to pay, later.

* * *

"We finished walking the dogs, cleaned up the trash in the river, weeded the client's garden, and retrieved Tora for the...possible millionth time since we got back from Wave Country," Kakashi listed off. "Not all that bad, at all. I'd say you have the rest of the day to yourselves for the time being."

Len smiled as she looked over to Sasuke and Naruto. "What do you think we should do?"

"RAMEN!" Naruto shouted cheerfully as he threw his fist into the air.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Can't you think of anything else to eat, besides Ramen?" he demanded. "It's fine when there's no real time to cook anything, but we don't have to worry about that, right now."

"Is that you saying you want Len's cooking?" Naruto countered in a suspicious glare.

Sasuke closed his eyes as he faced away from his teammates. "I'm saying you should be eating more than ramen," he argued. "If you eat nothing but ramen you're going to lose that girlish figure you like so much."

Naruto glared at Sasuke with absolute fury. "WHAT?!"

"Boys...do I need to throw sharp, pointy things at you?" Len threatened as she folded her arms over her chest.

Sasuke and Naruto both looked over to their female squad member, then to each other before quickly facing away from each other with a "Hmph!" and folded their arms over their chest. Len slouched her head as she sighed heavily.

Kakashi shunshin off to go give his report to Sandaime-sama while the rest of Squad Seven made their way over to Ichiraku's to have ramen.

As they walked, they talked amongst themselves about what possible prank they'd pull on the Third Hokage for not only giving them the C-Rank that turned out to be an A-Rank, but also for having them be the ones to retrieve Tora so much since their return home.

"I say we leave water balloons filled with paint in his office," Naruto suggested. "Triggered by a trip wire that will drop them over his head when he steps inside."

"Nah," Len begins. "Too messy for his office. His house, though..."

Sasuke merely rolled his eyes at their conversation. It wasn't that he didn't want to partake in the pranking when it came to the Hokage, but considering that Naruto could use the kage bunshin, it seemed a little weak in comparison.

As Len and Naruto continued to brainstorm, after a moment, Len suddenly fell silent as her gaze turned to the ground. Her gaze squinting with confusion. Naruto and Sasuke, realizing that their female teammate had stopped walking, turned their attention to look at her.

"Len? What is it?" Naruto asked as he looked at her with confusion.

"...We have company," she finally answered as she looked back and forth between her two teammates. "Normally, I wouldn't think anything of sensing a few chakras scattered throughout the village...but this...this is too many. Possibly from other villages." After a few seconds, her eyes suddenly narrow. "Sasuke—"

Sasuke nodded before he suddenly turned and jumped into a tree. Disappearing from sight. Already getting what Len's plan was. After watching the Uchiha disappear from sight, Len turned her attention to Naruto.

"Naruto, you stay with me," she ordered before she smirked. "Let's go pay a visit to some of these foreigners and give them a Konoha welcome."

Naruto blinked at her words for a moment.

"Two of them are not too far," Len informed him as she rolled her eyes. "Three academy students are not too far from them..."

Sudden realization hit the blond boy as his eyes narrowed and nodded. "Got it."

With that, Len continued on her way down the street. Her hands in her pockets as she walked. Naruto flanking her at her left.

* * *

Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon are running through the village. Pretending as though they are no longer in the academy and are actual ninjas. As they rush through the village, Konohamaru rounds a corner and suddenly bumps into a stranger dressed in black with purple make-up on his face and something large wrapped in bandages carried on his back. The hitae-ate showing the symbol of Sunagakure Village.

The foreigner glared down at Konohamaru who was sitting on the ground. Looking up at the stranger absolutely terrified.

"Pesky little brat!" The foreign boy retorted before he grabbed Konohamaru by his blue scarf and lifted him up into the air. Glaring at the small brat with irritation. "Can't you even watch where you're going?!"

"Kankuro!" The female wearing her blonde hair in four pigtails and in a pink battle dress and chainmail under the dress. The chainmail is seen on her right thigh, and then a section of the chainmail is seen on her left shin—also a fellow Suna shinobi—growled as she glared at him. "You shouldn't draw attention!"

"Aw, come on, Temari," Kankuro began with a devilish smirk. "Why don't we toy with them, a bit?"

"By all means," Len suddenly began from out of nowhere. Causing Temari and Kankuro to turn their attention to the platinum blonde. Smiling coldly at the two foreign shinobi. Her hands still in her pockets, but her rather relaxed-looking posture still seemed to hold a very dangerous edge to it. "Assault the Hokage's grandson. See where it gets you..."

She was standing directly behind Udon and Moegi. To Len's left, Naruto stood battle-ready. Shuriken in his hand as he glared at the two strangers. No one threatens Konohamaru so long as Naruto had anything to say about it.

Kankuro appeared a little uneasy upon hearing that the boy he had in his hand was a member of the Hokage's clan. He went to open his mouth to say something, but before he could make a sound, Len's eyes narrowed and she flared her chakra. Enough to catch Temari and Kankuro by surprise as they looked at the local in astonishment.

Suddenly, a rock whizzed by and smacked the hand Kankuro was holding Konohamaru with. Causing him to cry out as he release Sarutobi Konohamaru. Naruto was quick to act. Suddenly catching the small academy student before returning to Len's left flank just as quickly.

"You're okay, right, Konohamaru?" Naruto asked as he looked at the boy. Setting the child down on his feet.

"Yes, boss," Konohamaru answered. Looking up at Naruto. Udon and Moegi quickly moving to stand with Konohamaru.

"Good. Wanna play ninja? I'll even give you a head start," Naruto said, giving the younger boy a pointed look.

Konohamaru took the hint and made himself scarce. Moegi and Udon following after Konohamaru, close behind.

Everyone—except for Len, who kept her gaze on Kankuro and Temari—turned their attention to Sasuke as he sat in the tree. Casually tossing a rock up into the air before catching it in his hand.

"You're not from around here," Sasuke began in a droll voice. "Are you?"

Kankuro glared up at Sasuke. "Another wimp come to play?" he rhetorically demanded bitterly.

Sasuke wrapped his fingers around the small rock that had been in his hand. As he flexed his muscles some, a cracking sound could be heard before he opened his hand and sand suddenly began pouring out from his palm.

"Get lost," the Uchiha ordered as he glared down at Kankuro.

Kankuro growled as he continued to stare at Sasuke in rage. "Wimps like you piss me off most of all!" He reached up and grabbed the bandage that was around his shoulder. "All bark and no bite!"

Temari's eyes widened as she looked at Kankuro in surprise. "You're going to use Karasu for this?!" she demanded.

"Kankuro...back off," a soft, raspy voice suddenly filled the air. Making everyone's eyes widen as they suddenly looked over to the other branch opposite of Sasuke.

There, standing upside-down on the branch with his hands folded over his chest, was a boy with chopped red hair, dark rings around his eyes—resembling a raccoon's eyes—the kanji for "love" tattooed on his forehead. He wore a black one-piece suit with a white cloth wrapped around his right shoulder going diagonal across his torso, and a thick brown strap wrapped around his left shoulder in the same manner as the white cloth. A large gourd on his back.

"You're an embarrassment to our village," the boy continued. His expression remaining blank.

At that, everyone looked at him in shock. Kankuro quickly tried to compose his astonishment, though. Closing his eyes as he gave the boy a nervous grin.

"H-hey, Gaara," Kankuro said in a shaky voice.

Len's eyes narrowed as she looked at the new addition to their little spat. _How the hell did he do that?!_ She practically screamed in her thoughts. _With chakra that chaotic, I should have been able to sense him_ well _before now!_

Gaara's pale emerald eyes—which were on Kankuro, at first—slowly drifted around. His gaze lingering for a few seconds as he looked at Len, Naruto, and even Sasuke in particular. After so long of staring at each one of them, he returned his attention back to Kankuro. "Have you forgotten why we came all the way here?"

"I-I know," Kankuro started. "I-I mean, they challenged us." He let out a nervous chuckle. "So, they started the whole thing, really. See, here's what happ—"

"Shut up," Gaara ordered as he glared down at Kankuro. His composed face cracking. "Or I'll kill you."

Kankuro flinched as sweat began to drip down his face. Appearing terrified at the boy who just ordered him to keep quiet. "Ah, right," he said nervously. "I was totally out of line. I'm sorry, Gaara."

Gaara then turned his attention completely to Len, Naruto, and Sasuke. "I'm sorry, for any trouble he caused."

 _His eyes...I don't like them!_ Len thought as she looked at the Suna shinobi in the tree. _They're a killer's eyes._

After a few seconds of staring at Sasuke, Gaara transformed into sand and drifted down to Kankuro and Temari. Rematerializing in a crouched position right in front of them before he stood up and turned to face them.

"Let's go," Gaara ordered. "We didn't come here to play games."

"A-alright, sure," Kankuro stuttered. "I get it."

Gaara then proceeded to walk past them. Temari and Kankuro both turned and began following after him. Len's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Wait!" she ordered. Causing all of the Suna trio to pause.

"What?" Temari called out. None of them turned around to face her.

"You're Suna shinobi," Len started as she continued to look at them suspiciously. "Is the reason you are here because the Chuunin Exams are to be held here?"

Naruto looked at Len with mild confusion, but he quickly composed himself as he looked back to the Suna shinobi. Sasuke jumped down from the tree to stand to the right of Len. His hands in his pockets as he glared at the team they just had a confrontation with.

Temari and the others finally turned to face Squad Seven. A slight smirk on Temari's face. "Perceptive, aren't you?"

After a long moment, Gaara turned his attention fully toward the three Konoha genin. "You three. What are your names?"

Naruto pointed to himself. "Well, my name is—"

Len interrupted Naruto by swiftly bringing her hand up in front of him. Causing her partner to look at her hand in confusion before he brought his bewildered gaze up to look at the side profile of her face.

"That...would be telling," Len said with a devilish smirk.

Gaara cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

"You'll just have to wait to learn our names," Len informed him. Folding her arms over her chest. "I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again, _real_ soon."

Gaara's eyes narrowed as he looked at Len in particular. It infuriated him that he was unable to learn the names of the shinobi standing before him. The one who threw the pebble at Kankuro, the one who expelled a rather significant amount of chakra to distract his team and signal the one in the tree to attack, and even the one who moved at a rather significant speed to retrieve the academy brat that Kankuro tried to bully.

Temari and Kankuro, knowing that Gaara was now irritated, gave their fellow teammate a terrified look before they looked back to the Konoha genin, as if to say "You just had to get him mad?" without actually saying it.

"Very soon," Gaara finally said before he turned to face away from them and jumped off. Kankuro and Temari turning and following after their squad member. After a short while, Naruto closed his eyes as he sighed before he looked to Len and leaned in close to him.

"Len..." Naruto whispered into her ear. "I think...that Gaara guy is the same as me..."

Len nodded as she continued to stare in the direction the Suna genin had disappeared. "With the chakra level I sensed off of him," she whispered back, "it wouldn't surprise me."

 **"** _ **Yet another jinchuuriki..."**_ the voice rang in Len's head. **"** _ **Things just got interesting."**_

* * *

The next day, Kakashi was again late to training. Something the team was used to by this point...well, something Naruto and Sasuke were used to by this point. Len appeared to already be used to it. Considering their jounin leader _was_ her uncle.

Deciding that it was pointless to wait for their leader without doing _something_ , Len decided that they were going to work on their stealth. A game of hide-and-seek seemed to work excellently for such an occasion. Picking Naruto to be the one to find them, Len and Sasuke disappeared into the dense foliage while Naruto turned his back away and proceeded to wait.

After a sufficient amount of time had passed, Naruto turned back towards the dense forest in the training ground. Creating three shadow clones before racing off to find his fellow teammates.

Naruto's eyes scanned through the dense forest as he zipped along. After a little while, he spotted something blue off in the distance and quickly pulled out a shuriken. Whipping it towards the direction the speck of blue was. One of the many points sticking into the tree just above where the speck was.

Upon hearing the shuriken sink into the bark of the tree, it was suddenly gone. Zipping through the forest. Naruto smirked as he watched his best friend race off.

"You can't get away that easily, Len!" he called out.

Off in the distance, Naruto heard one of his shadow clones cry out before the memories of the clone flashed into his head. Telling him where Sasuke was. With a devilish smirk, he set his plan into motion.

He summoned two more shadow clones and sent them off to send Sasuke towards where he wanted before he continued on after Len. After a short time, he catches up to his blonde friend and throws another shuriken at her. Causing her to immediately jump to the left to dodge.

Naruto's smirk turned into an evil grin.

Len felt something tug ever so slightly against her ankle before it suddenly disappeared. She quickly turned her gaze to see a barrage of shuriken fly in her direction each attached to wire. Sasuke, trying to dodge the clones that were suddenly attacking him, bumped against Len just seconds before the trap caught them and tied them together. Causing them to stumble before falling onto the ground.

Len growled as she glared over to Naruto. "Really, Naruto?!" she shouted. "When the _hell_ —"

Naruto pointed to himself with an beaming grin on his face. "Ninja~"

Sasuke gave Naruto an outraged glare. "I told you to prank Len and Kakashi-sensei! NOT ME!"

Naruto looked away before he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm still working on that one," he informed his partner.

"Want me to hold him down while you fillet him?" Sasuke suggested as he continued to glare at Naruto.

"What would be great, thanks," Len said as she, too, glared at her best friend.

"I see my students are as lively as ever, this morning," Kakashi suddenly cut in. Crouched in the tree that was directly over the three genin. Causing everyone to look up at him. His features creased in a way that indicated he was smiling down at them as he brought his hand up. "Yo," he greeted.

"What's the reason you're late, this time, Kakashi-sensei?!" Naruto snapped as he pointed an accusing finger up at their sensei. "And don't give us that 'path of life' garbage you gave us the last two times! We know better!"

"Actually, I was caught in a rather interesting meeting, this morning, and that's why I'm late," Kakashi-sensei explained before he suddenly shunshin to stand beside them all. Len and Sasuke performing the escape jutsu to free themselves from the practice wire Naruto had tied them up in.

"What happened?" Len asked as she looked at him. Finding it odd that he would actually tell them the real reason why he was late.

 **Flashback**

" _I, Hatake Kakashi, lead Squad Seven," Kakashi began as he announced his team as candidates for the Chuunin Selection Exams. "Uchiha Sasuke, Hatake Len, and Uzumaki Naruto. I recommend all three of these genin for the Chuunin Selection Exams."_

" _Oh please!" one of the shinobi in the crowd behind him shouted. "You're only recommending your team to boost your ego!"_

 _Kakashi turned his attention to the jounin who was running his mouth. "You have something to say, Ryuuk?"_

" _Yeah, I do," Ryuuk answered. "Everyone here knows that you're a sorry excuse for a jounin leader. And with that_ thing _in your team, there's no way they'll last even a week after the first section of the exams!"_

 _Kakashi's expression appeared as though he was smiling as he faced Ryuuk. "Oh? Is that right? Well, we'll just have to wait and see, now won't we?"_

 _Concealed in his pockets, his hands clenched into fists. Using every ounce of his willpower to keep his composure and not punch Ryuuk in his face. It was already bad enough that_ his _squad contained the very genin that had caused his niece such suffering shortly after her graduation to genin._

" _By the way, how is Axl faring, these days?" Kakashi questioned. "I heard he had quite the turn of events shortly before my squad and I left for Wave Country. How long was your squad out of commission for while his injuries healed?"_

 _Ryuuk glared at Kakashi. "Why should you care?"_

" _Because that boy_ — _your little civilian prodigy_ — _had better keep his actions in check from now on, if he wants to continue to have a chance at even getting a decent girlfriend," Kakashi informed him._

" _Alright, enough, you two," Sarutobi called out. Causing everyone to look at him and shut Ryuuk and Kakashi up. "Next squad leader...announce your squad."_

 **End of Flashback**

"I have nominated you three to take part in the Chuunin Exams," Kakashi informed them. "These are your nomination forms." He handed each of them a slip of paper, which gave their respective name at the top, saying that they had been nominated to take part in the exams, and had his name and rank at the bottom. "You three will sign the form and take them to room 301 at the academy five days from today at 3pm."

Len cocked an eyebrow as she looked up at her uncle. "What? But I thought that you just nominated us. It's up to us on whether we want to attend the exam or not."

"Firstly, I know that none of you are going to turn down the chance to become chuunin outside of a field promotion if the said opportunity presents itself," Kakashi began. Holding up each finger as he listed off his reasonings for his word choice. "Secondly, are you sure you'd even consider turning down the exam if I told you that a certain jounin decided to badmouth your sensei?"

The space between all four of them got deathly quiet as Naruto, Len, and Sasuke looked at Kakashi with hardened eyes. The only things that could be heard was the leaves occasionally rustling from the wind, the insects buzzing, and the birds chirping every so often.

No one disrespected their sensei. _No one_.

* * *

A/N: Okay. Sorry that this chapter is EXTREMELY late. Life sort of caught up with me there for a minute. Working two jobs will sort of do that to a person. But thankfully I'm back now, and hopefully will be able to return to schedule after this. I'm still not entirely sure if I'll be able to or not. Hopefully I can. I'm in the part that not only am I most excited for, but most of you are probably excited for, as well. I know at least one reader who is DEFINITELY excited. Hope you like it.

Like my story? Please support my writing by becoming my patron at . com. Type in " . com." Then add "/ elderxchildx6" to the end of it and it should take you directly to my page. (Be sure to remove the spacing between everything so that way you can actually get to my account.)


	12. Chapter 11: The Plan

**Team Tragedy**

 **A Naruto Fanfiction**

 **Author: ElderxChildx6 Co-Author/Editor: EDelta88**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. All rights reserved.**

 **Team Tragedy (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

 **Len Hatake (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: The Plan**

With the Chuunin Exams only days away, Squad Seven rarely appeared in public outside of food runs and to purchase equipment. If they were going to pull off their scheme to avenge Kakashi's honor they needed all the time they had in order to prepare themselves for the upcoming exams. And with probably one of the most informed genin about anything that was related to shinobi affairs, Naruto and Sasuke turned to their fellow kunoichi for some insight as they plotted out how to decimate the competition… in the most humiliating and sadistic fashions that Naruto and Sasuke–respectively–could imagine.

"Alright, what exactly do we need to be prepared for as far as the exam itself?" Sasuke asked as they all sat in a small circle in their usual training ground. Having finished their training with their sensei, it was now time to talk strategy.

"The Chuunin Exams traditionally consist of three stages," Len told them, remembering all the stories her uncle and his friends had told her about their exams. She had made them one of her famous–in Sasuke's "humble" opinion–bento lunch boxes for the three of them. All of them indulging in Len's cooking as she spoke. "The first and second stages vary based on the village that's hosting and the examiner's running it. That said, some kind of survival exercise or something similar has been a common theme from what I've heard. But the first stages are always meant to test skills that the villages and examiners find important in ninja, whether it be survival like I said, information gathering, or simple retrieval. Those are skills and missions that tend to be the ones more frequently delegated to chuunin.

"The third part is almost exclusively a tournament," Len went on. "But don't think it's one of those civilian tournaments where the winner gets money and a trophy. From what Uncle Kakashi has told me, it's much more complicated than that. All kinds of political undertones and posturing, blatant advertising, etcetera. You don't even have to win to get a promotion. Evidently, so long as you put on a good show of the right abilities even losers in the tournament can still advance to chuunin. Also, you have to be careful how you pace yourself because they're testing to see just how smart you are throughout the _entire_ thing. How you engage your opponent in the tournament will drastically change whether you become chuunin or not."

Naruto and Sasuke both nodded.

"Okay, so how should we prove that Kakashi-sensei isn't some lousy leader while doing all of this?" Naruto inquired. "There's no way we can let them get away with what they did to him in the meeting."

Len smirked as she looked at Naruto. "We're going to hunt down every squad that even looks at us funny. Then we are going knock them out of this exam to prove that not only is uncle Kakashi-sensei a great instructor because he has obviously helped make us _freaking awesome_ , but that the rest of the participants are just seasoned cannon fodder and have no right to be anywhere near _our_ exam because they got schooled by freaking rookies. _Especially_ the other Konoha teams." Then she paused for a moment, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Well… maybe we shouldn't go after squads Eight and Ten. They're fellow rookies. They deserve this chance to become chuunin just as much as we do. But the rest can go crawl in a hole and rot for all I care, with how their leaders treated ours."

Naruto's expression suddenly becomes serious as he looks at Len. "We also shouldn't go after Gaara's team when we carry out this plan.

Sasuke looked at Naruto like he was crazy. "Why not?" he demanded. "Going after them would be-"

Naruto's serious gaze turned to Sasuke. His eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at the Uchiha. "No," he interrupted. "It would not be 'fun.' We need to stay as far away from Gaara's team as possible until the tournament when we'll have jounin around to intervene if things get out of hand."

Sasuke looked at Naruto in slight astonishment. _Naruto is actually serious…_ he noted. _Legitimately and completely serious. What's going on?_

Len nodded as she looked at Naruto. "I agree with Naruto," she said. "Leave Gaara's team alone until the tournament. Temari and Kankuro may not pose much of an issue for us, but Gaara certainly would if we don't train more. So save his team for the last part of the exam when we have jounin to supervise and prevent anything he might dish out at us."

Deciding to let the conversation die there and not fight with his team anymore on the matter, Sasuke quirked a brow at her skeptically. "And how are we going to do that without knowing what we are going to be doing in the initial stages of the exam?"

"I'm fairly decent in fuinjutsu," Len informed them. "Although considering how much you've been studying it since we became genin, I'm sure you're better at it than I am, Naruto. Make as many body storage seals as you can, rig them for combat capture if you can. I'm going to have uncle Kakashi-sensei help me study more in fuinjutsu." Len turns her gaze over to Sasuke. "Are you able to use seals well enough if Naruto and I make them out for you?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Do I really look stupid to you?"

"Yes," Len replied without missing a beat.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes. "Well, that covers the plan for any kind of practical exam. We'll need to figure out just how many genin are participating in the selection exam this year," Sasuke added. "What are we doing for exams that don't focus on fieldwork?"

"Yeah," Naruto piped up. "How do we get at the other teams outside of open combat? Like some kind of fetch quest or something? I mean, we could just cheat but..."

Len nodded thoughtfully. "Well, some teams will more than likely get weeded out on their own without our help," Len began. "Depending on what the initial stages actually are, it might be better to save open combat for the tournament and focus on using the exams themselves to disqualify everyone else. If survival is one of the stages in the exam, we can essentially hunt down those that we feel could be the real problem. If not, then the tournament will certainly be our moment to shine. At that point it wouldn't be practical to use the scrolls, not showy enough, but we could publicly humiliate everyone they pit us against. Naruto could even make a "this is personal" speech for every Leaf genin we face."

"Oi!" Naruto barked indignantly. "Why do I have to make the speech?!"

"Because I don't want to, Sasuke's people skills are about as developed as Sakura's chest, and you need the practice Mr. Hokage-To-Be," she shot back, sticking her tongue out at him.

"So what should we all be training while we prepare for the exam?" Sasuke hurriedly asked before Naruto could build up a head of steam and go off on a tangent. "At this point there's not really time to learn anything new but we should probably coordinate what we are working on so we don't waste any time."

"As I said before, I'll be training up on my fuinjutsu–with uncle Kakashi-sensei's help–and genjutsu," Len informed them. "It would come in handy for-"

"Nix the fuinjutsu," Naruto interrupted.

"Huh?" Len asked, blinking confusedly.

"You don't have the time to really do much other than copy down existing designs at this point and my clones do that way faster because, you know, numbers," Naruto explained.

"Oh, alright… um, genjtsu it is, then. You should focus on your genjutsu as well, Naruto. At least the release methods. You've gotten better, but it still needs improvement. Ninjutsu training wouldn't hurt, either. Have your clones practice everything you've got until you can do it without thinking." She then looked to Sasuke. "And you...just keep doing what you're doing. You're pretty well rounded...although you should probably train your Sharingan so it doesn't do to you what it does to my uncle."

"How did Kakashi-sensei get his Sharingan, anyway?" Sasuke demanded. Sending a glance over to Kakashi, who seemed to be staring off into the woodland area of the training grounds. His back to the three genin.

"He... got it from a friend," Len informed them. "Uncle Kakashi-sensei doesn't talk about it much so I don't know the details. But it was apparently a gift from one of his squad members to keep safe from enemy hands…at least that's what I gathered from what little he has told me."

After a moment Sasuke nodded, appeased. It seemed logical. If an Uchiha was a member of his squad and something happened, it was best to give his Sharingan to someone who was trustworthy rather than have it fall into enemy hands. Whether the clan elders approved or not didn't exactly matter, but was certainly something to consider. They still probably wouldn't have approved of it happening outside of the clan. Although surgically implanting a Sharingan into someone outside of the clan was said to rarely succeed. The outsider getting it implanted usually would die from it within a month for some reason. The fact that Kakashi has had if for seemingly longer than a month–considering he's well known as the Copy Ninja–was certainly a surprise in itself. Probably why the clan elders never suspected…

At any rate, Len was right. If Sasuke wanted to be able to last in the Chuunin Exams, he was going to need to practice using his Sharingan. There was no way he wanted to deal with that chakra exhaustion. Especially if it knocked Kakashi out for as long as it had. Possibly longer if Len wasn't good with medical jutsu.

"Naruto, I do need to talk to you about something in private for a minute," Len announced as she stood up. "Let's go over there to talk about it." She pointed off in the distance. Closer to the lake in the training ground so there was decent space between them and Sasuke and Kakashi.

Naruto looked to where his best friend pointed before he returned his gaze to her and nodded. Standing up and following her over to the spot they would be talking. Sasuke watching them as they walked away.

When they reached their destination, Sasuke could have sworn he saw Naruto lay something down on the ground, but he wasn't entirely sure. He watched his two squad members sit down at the water's edge and seem to start talking, but he couldn't entirely tell what they were talking about. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he watched the scene continue.

 _Something was definitely strange about it..._

* * *

Later that night, after they'd finished team training and she couldn't risk any more physical training or chakra exercises, Len completely ignored Naruto's advice and pulled out her sealing supplies.

In hindsight learning fuinjutsu in the first place was a feat in itself as far as Len was concerned. Getting what anyone would consider good? She was starting to think she should have done as Naruto told her and focused on something else. Len had a basic understanding of fuinjutsu, considering who her uncle was and having been trained in it a little bit. But that didn't make it any easier.

Getting the seal to be exactly the way you wanted was a challenge. The arithmetic involved was certainly enough to make her brain hurt. Considering that it pretty much allowed you to manipulate the very fabric of reality, it certainly couldn't be easy. And thank the spirits for that but damn if it didn't piss her off. Studying up on it was really all she could do, but she had to be prepared. Naruto couldn't be the only one working on their reserve of sealing tricks. On top of that, there may be certain situations where they would need to do something other than store bodies. Things that they may need for the exam. Being overly prepared never hurt anyone.

She wasn't planning on being as good as Naruto possibly was. Considering she still did not know the kage bunshin, herself, becoming as good as he was took time that she didn't have. But if she could have the seals written out in advance for when they were needed, that was good enough to her.

"Still struggling there, kiddo?" Kakashi asked his niece as he took a seat next to her. Resting his elbows on the table as he watched her practically try to catch the scrolls and books on her fuinjutsu training on fire with just her eyes.

"Basic storage scrolls were simple enough," Len informed him as she continued reading the books and scrolls she had found at the academy library or that were given to her by her uncle to read up on. "I didn't think it would be too hard but the concepts once you go past that are extremely complicated...I never knew math and arithmetics could make my brain hurt so much."

With that, Kakashi let out a small chuckle of amusement. "It can be complex the better you want the seal to be," Kakashi explained to her. "Also how much you plan to store within the seal, or just what exactly you write that seal to do. I knew someone who could use seals to essentially teleport...for lack of a better word."

Len looked at her uncle with astonishment. "Really?!" she demanded.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes. Those seals were extremely advanced, however. There is a squad of shinobi who can use the technique, today, but they need the whole squad in order to perform the technique. The only ones who could use that particular technique in combat–by themselves–were the Nidaime Hokage and the person I knew."

"That's...incredible," Len said as she looked back down at her books on fuinjutsu. "That would certainly be helpful in the exams," she murmured thoughtfully.

Kakashi gave Len an amused look. "...I highly doubt you'll be able to get that technique anywhere near usable by the time the exams start, Len. Best stick to storage seals and esplosive tags for now."

Len closed her eyes as she sighed heavily. "I suppose you're right…" She then looked over to her uncle. "It's still a thought for the future, though. I better get back to studying."

"How about I help you," her uncle suggested. "It might make the studying go by faster."

Len smiled up at him. "I'd like that, uncle."

* * *

Sasuke panted heavily as he knelt in his backyard. Which was essentially a training facility in itself with the way he had it set up. He had been training almost nonstop since him and his team broke for individual preparation for the exams that were just around the corner. He had to get better. He had to get stronger. He had his Sharingan, now. He had to practice with it to ensure that he wouldn't get too exhausted using it.

Sasuke steadied his breathing as he closed his eyes. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and they were the crimson red of his clan kekkei genkai. Watching everything that was now within his line of sight carefully. Noting every rustle of the trees. Every speck of dirt being kicked up by the wind. Every blade of grass that swayed. Every minor shake on his windows of his house.

He stayed like this for an hour before he closed his eyes and allowed the Sharingan to fade away. He was panting, again, but not nearly as bad as he was before. He was getting the hang of it. If he kept this up, he'd barely feel its effects by the time the exams started. It certainly would have been easier if he had someone to spar with, however. It would give him a better moving target to concentrate on. It would also allow him to access the better part of the analysis aspect of his technique, and copy what was being used against him.

Not that he would use the copied techniques during the exam unless he felt it really would help him out of whatever bind he was in, but it would allow him to use the full potential of his kekkei genkai for his training so that way when he used it in the exam, it would work better for him.

Maybe he would ask Len to help him train his Sharingan. There was _no way_ he was going to ask Naruto-dobe. He may have gotten better, but Naruto was still a cakewalk for him in terms of physically fighting him. At least with Len he actually had to concentrate and strategize...actually pay attention.

Although...if he could actually get Naruto to fight better, it would certainly improve the chances of the whole team advancing to chuunin. It _could_ potentially help him to get stronger, as well. He had noticed the changes Naruto had made ever since Len had entered into the dobe's life. How he had improved in executing his ninjutsu and fighting techniques. He didn't exactly know the methods Len had used to motivate Naruto to become better and focus more on his academy work and training, but she managed it, _somehow_. And if he could also ensure that Naruto improved, it would make their team as a whole more of a force to be reckoned with. Which in turn would allow them to access more advanced training material and challenging missions which would ensure that he get stronger to carry out his revenge.

It wasn't entirely a bad idea...improving Naruto. It would make him more of a challenge in spars, which Kakashi required anyway, but then it would also help Sasuke to improve if the dobe was more like Len. He didn't expect Naruto to be as good as Len in terms of sparring, not anytime soon at any rate. No one was ever able to do what Len could do when it came to sparring, but if he could make Naruto more of a challenge, it certainly would help, _significantly_.

It was settled, then. There was no way in hell that he was not going to become chuunin, he wouldn't allow it. And if that meant he had to give Naruto a leg up… well, he was certainly make sure that he and Len did not get dragged down because of Naruto.

* * *

Naruto panted heavily as he lied there on the ground. He had been training relentlessly since they had all went their separate ways. As planned his clones were off drawing out sealing scrolls and creating enough sealing tags to boobytrap the whole village as well as a few other… personal, projects. The only thing he, himself, needed to do was the physical aspect of his training. Kami knew that his clones couldn't give him the physical stress that would help him to build more muscle, only the mental knowledge and emotional exhaustion… probably for the best. With all the dumb shit his clones got into he would have spent most of his life in the hospital if he got anything physical back from them.

As Naruto continued to lie there, breathing heavily, Sasuke walked over to him. His serious gaze staring down at the blond boy. Who hadn't seemed to realize that the Uchiha had walked over to him.

"Oi, dobe," Sasuke said. Holding back his amusement when Naruto practically jumped ten feet out of his skin from the sudden sound of Sasuke's voice. "You're coming with me."

Naruto blinked as he looked at Sasuke with confusion. "...What?" he demanded. "Why?"

"Because you need at least physical improvement in your training," Sasuke began, "and I need to practice my Sharingan to its fullest potential so that way I can utilize it and not get overly exhausted like Kakashi-sensei had when he used his. Now get up."

"But...I don't want to!" Naruto complained. "I am exhausted! I'm sore!" Naruto paused for a moment before he slouched his head. "Can't it at least wait until tomorrow?" he added.

Sasuke shook his head. "If you can run your mouth, you have the strength to continue training," he told him before he grabbed ahold of Naruto by the collar of his shirt and began dragging him off. "Now stop your complaining. You're going to do it whether you like it or not."

Naruto flailed his arms as Sasuke continued to drag him. "Okayokayokayokay! Stop dragging me and I'll do it!"

Sasuke let go of Naruto's shirt and turned back to face him and Naruto picked himself off of the ground. Brushing his butt off of the dirt and grass that was now caked there–with the now obvious dirt and grass stains–before he turned to look back at Sasuke. Jumping back a ways to give them space before he took his stance.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan as he looked at Naruto before he took his own stance. "Now. Come at me."

* * *

[OMAKE]

Kakashi stood in the Hokage's office. Discussing private affairs that could not be shared with others. His hands lazily in his pockets. There were occasions that the Sandaime Hokage would call him to discuss the matters that involved Naruto in terms of him being the jinchuuriki. And this was one of those situations.

"You are absolutely sure, Kakashi?" Sarutobi questioned as he looked at the silver-haired jounin with suspicion.

"Naruto has shown no indication that he knows he is the jinchuuriki," Kakashi sighed for what seemed like the millionth time. "And it appears that no one already in the know has informed him of his status. Considering you have had me keep tabs on him since he was a toddler, I would think you'd have a little more confidence in my reports… sir."

"It's not that I don't trust your reports, Kakashi," the Third began as he closed his eyes. "It's the way Naruto has been acting… off, recently. Normally I wouldn't think anything of it, he did just make gennin after all, but something in the way he acts makes me uneasy." He opened his eyes to look back at the jounin leader in front of him. "Make sure you continue to keep a close eye on him, Kakashi. If the seal were to ever be broken…"

Kakashi just sighed. "With all due respect, sir. If we just told him about his status we could just check the damn seal without any of these shenanigans." he drawled.

"You know why we can't do that, Kakashi," the Sandaime sighed.

"Hmm… nope, no I don't. Keeping this from him when he was a little blabbermouth attention whore? Yes, that made sense. Keeping it from him now that he's a semi-responsible member of the ninja force completely under your authority? Not s'much."

"He has enough on his plate, already. I don't want to-"

"And that's all the more reason why you _should_ tell him," Kakashi interrupted. "He's going to find out, eventually. It would be much safer for everyone involved if we were honest with him as soon as possible and in a controlled environment."

The Sandaime shook his head. "We are children but once, Kakashi. Let him keep his innocence a little longer," he rebuked.

Kakashi sagged, defeated. "Sir. Yes, sir," he acknowledged, giving a quick salute."Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a squad to return to and help prepare for their exam."

With that, Kakashi turned on his heel and walked out of the Hokage's office. His onyx eye staring straight ahead. His hands still in his pockets. His thoughts drifting to Naruto and what the Sandaime had said.

The Hokage was… well, he wasn't wrong. Recently there was certainly something different in Naruto's attitude. But, for the life of him, Kakashi couldn't put his finger on what the difference was. It certainly didn't seem like Naruto was aware of his status as a jinchuuriki. He couldn't picture Naruto being particularly… calm, when he made that discovery and, if Naruto actually knew, he certainly wouldn't blame Naruto for throwing some kind of tantrum or holding a sort of grudge against the naysayers within the village. It was why keeping such a thing a secret from Naruto–when it was his secret to keep–wasn't exactly a wise choice in his opinion and why he was so frustrated with the Sandaime's insistence on keeping him in the dark.

He just hoped that Naruto didn't lash out too badly when he finally discovered that he was the Konoha's jinchuuriki… As much as the village may deserve it, bad things would happen if Naruto did go too far.

Suddenly, Kakashi paused as an odd thought struck him.

Maybe it was time for him to encourage his students to nurture a few… stress-relieving, hobbies. The gods only knew how much they would need vices and outlets in the next few years and Konoha could weather an apocalyptic prank war much more easily than a biju-fueled temper tantrum.

The fact that the amount of paperwork it could cause for the Sandaime was just a completely unintentional side bonus and in no way Kakashi's petty revenge against his leader for the dreadful D-ranks that had been foisted upon him. Nope, not at all.

* * *

A/N: I AM ALIVE! ...And pregnant.

Yup. That's the biggest reason why I just suddenly went AWAL for as long as I had... Found out that I am pregnant. So I took some time (a LOT of time...) for myself to basically gather my sanity and stop myself from freaking out too badly about it. By this point, I'd say I'm about 11 weeks into my pregnancy. Almost through my first trimester. Had a really bad case of morning sickness at about six weeks into the pregnancy. (Another reason why I went AWAL...barely could keep anything down to really give me the energy to write.) But all in all, I'd say I'm doing okay...so far. Now if I can just get my OBGYN scheduled so I can get that stuff done and going would be great (every time I have been trying I have been getting a recording saying that they're "closed" and that if it's a "medical emergancy to call 911").

I'm not promising anything when it comes to my schedule, anymore, on updating for this story. My updates might be random, from this point on, until at least the baby is born...18 years of my life just got signed away, people. Please show your support and work with me while I deal with all this, please.^^ Nagging me to "update soon" is not exactly going to get me to update quicker, when I have a baby I have to think about providing for and making sure I have the things I need for it when the baby arrives. (Although I still expect to get those because I know that there are a decent few of you FF readers who don't really pay attention to these author's notes...so you still probably will, anyway.)

As always, thank you for your constant support. I'm sure there are a lot of you who are excited to see this chapter up. Again, I promise nothing in the schedule for updating, anymore, but I will try my best.

Like my story? Please support my writing by becoming my patron at . com. Type in " . com." Then add "/ elderxchildx6" to the end of it and it should take you directly to my page. (Be sure to remove the spacing between everything so that way you can actually get to my account.)


	13. Chapter 12: The Qualification

**Team Tragedy**

 **A Naruto Fanfiction**

 **Author: ElderxChildx6 Co-Author/Editor: EDelta88**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. All rights reserved.**

 **Team Tragedy (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

 **Len Hatake (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: The Qualification**

 **Flashback**

" _Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai," Iruka began as he approached the three Jounin. "May I have a word with you three?"_

 _Kurenai looked at Iruka with confusion. "What is it, Iruka?"_

 _Iruka closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he looked back at the three leaders of the rookie teams. "I really think you putting your teams into the Chuunin Selection Exams is much too soon. They were all my students and they are still relatively fresh from the academy. I don't want to step on your toes, but I feel that they aren't ready for something like this, yet."_

 _Asuma cocked an eyebrow as he looked at the chuunin before him. "How do you figure?"_

" _Well, let's take Naruto for example," Iruka replied. "He–"_

" _Iruka," Asuma interrupted. "Firstly, we all know that you rather like Naruto. A lot. So using him as an example really does not help your case, at all. It shows bias."_

" _Secondly," Kakashi added, "Naruto has been training with Len since they met, helping Naruto grow exceptionally as a shinobi since they were about six. On top of that, he was also placed in the same squad as Sasuke. Both of them hold a rivalry with one another, and thus push each other subconsciously to do better."_

" _The Hokage approved these squads based on the balance of their strengths and weaknesses as well as how likely they were to work well with each other based on their personalities," Kurenai explained. "Making them respectively powerful when working together."_

" _In other words, Iruka," Kakashi went on, "if_ we _feel that they are ready for the Chuunin Selection Exams, then you really don't have a say in it. If they fail the exam, then they fail the exam."_

" _But you know that they could be killed in the exams!" Iruka protested rather loudly. Glaring at Kakashi._

" _They could also get killed on a D-rank if a horse takes a particular dislike to them," Kakashi shot back. Seeming to appear rather irritated with the chuunin just as much. "But we let them do it anyway because we are confident enough that they_ won't _. Just like we are confident that they will survive_ this _."_

" _Kakashi," Kurenai said as she looked at the jounin to her left. "I'm sure he has heard enough."_

" _I disagree, Kurenai," Kakashi informed her. "He needs to realize that once they have made it to_ _active_ _gennin that they are no longer 'his students.' They become the students of whatever jounin leader is assigned to them. Making Naruto, Len, and Sasuke_ my soldiers _."_

 _Iruka looked at Kakashi with slight horror. "You'd look at Len as a 'soldier?'" He demanded in shock. "She's your niece! Kakashi, she's all the family you have lef–"_

" _That is no excuse, Iruka," Kakashi informed him. "Len knew the risks of becoming a kunoichi before she even met you and how I would treat her if she was ever assigned to my command. Out in the field I am her commanding officer, I have to be. I cannot be overprotective of her. I cannot show bias. I cannot give her that kind of luxury because in any other situation she won't receive the same special consideration and that might get her killed. So I treat her the same as Naruto and Sasuke; the same as I treat_ any _soldier_ _under my command. Quite frankly, if I didn't I would expect the Hokage to take Squad Seven away from me for gross negligence."_

 _Asuma and Kurenai-though obviously sharing the same view that Iruka had when hearing Kakashi call his own niece as a "soldier"–really couldn't help but agree with Kakashi's arguing statement. Kakashi did have a point, after all._

" _Iruka," the Hokage chimed in at that moment. Making the chuunin in question turn his gaze to their leader. "If you are done riling up the leaders of the rookie squads, I would like to discuss with you the tests the rookie teams will be going through in order to participate, since you seem to feel so strongly about the subject."_

 _Iruka looked at the Sandaime Hokage with astonishment. "Y-yes Hokage-sama!"_

 **End of Flashback**

"So, does anyone else find it weird that Iruka-sensei was running around disguised as a Hidden Rain shinobi?" Len inquired as she stood there with the rest of her squad. Her arms folded over her chest as she looked up toward the sky.

"Wait...what?" Naruto asked as he looked at Len with confusion. "Iruka-sensei disguised himself as a Rain shinobi? What for?"

Len turned her attention to her blond friend. "Well, didn't you run into a Rain shinobi at all? Oddly hostile but easy to deal with?"

"Um...maybe," Naruto answered, though it sounded more like a question.

"Then chances are it was probably Iruka-sensei," Len informed him. "For some reason he came up to me disguised as if he was from a different village. Then tried to get me with a genjutsu about having captured both you and Sasuke and that you both were on the verge of death. I laughed in his face, called out his bluff, and proceeded to leave the training area. What about you two?"

"A Rain shinobi tried to kidnap Moegi," Naruto explained. "But I… uh… took care of it. Then I might have… um… dropped him off to the interrogations division to be...well, taken care of."

"...Similar to yours, Len," was all Sasuke replied. His expressionless face still in place, although his eyes seemed to say something completely different.

 **Flashback**

 _The Rain Village shinobi stood there about five feet away from Sasuke. In front of the foreign ninja, lying on the ground, was a very bloodied and bruised Len. Seeming to have a difficult time breathing, and staying conscious._

 _Sasuke looked at his teammate with wide eyes. His rival was lying on the ground, dying. By a foreign ninja that had been allowed into their village to participate in the Chuunin Selection Exams. His mind was screaming at him that it couldn't be real. Len would never have been so stupid as to engage in a fight with an unknown shinobi without backup. Especially not one confident enough to attack in the middle of a hidden village. She played the rank of gennin better than even him or Naruto. Being the distraction while the superior officer dealt the killing blow. There was no way she would allow herself to get that far._

 _Then there was another part of him that said otherwise. It was a foreign part of himself. It made anger, unquenchable rage, well up inside him like a storm swell. Within moments his pupils had shrunk to pin pricks as he focused_ _on nothing else but the Rain shinobi before him. Wanting nothing more than to tear him to shreds for what he had done to his teammate and rival. His entire being trembled as this strange part of him seemed to outweigh his mind. All logic being thrown out the window._

 _The Rain shinobi laughed malevolently. "What are you going to do, Uchiha Sasuke?" He demanded in his raspy voice. He then knelt down and grabbed a handful of Len's platinum blonde hair. Lifting her head up off the ground enough to show her bruised and cut up face. A faint groan of pain escaped from her as the foreigner did so. "If you participate in the Chuunin Exams, you'll meet the sa–"_

 _The Rain shinobi never got to finish his sentence. He was too busy getting punched in the face by the raven-haired boy before him. His eyes narrowed in genuine fury. And he didn't stop there. Oh no. This foreigner crossed the line. There was going to be no mercy. Especially not from Sasuke. This man was never going to walk, again. He was never going to be able to even pick up chopsticks._

 _Sasuke continued to throw one punch after another. One kick after another. Refusing to give this foreign shinobi any chance to regain himself to even try to throw an attack. Even while the foreigner tried to say something, Sasuke wasn't going to let him. Not until the foreigner was shrouded in a cloud of smoke. And just as Sasuke was about to punch through the cloud of smoke, his fist stopped just centimeters away from Iruka-sensei's face._

" _Sasuke, calm down," Iruka-sensei ordered. "It was just an illusion. None of it was real."_

 _Sasuke blinked a few times as his mind registered that the man before him was his old mentor from the academy. Sasuke slowly turned his head to look behind him. Expecting to still see Len crumpled up and bloody on the ground. Only to discover that there was no one there._

 _Sasuke slowly returned his gaze to Iruka. Calming himself from the overwhelming anger that had taken control of him. Iruka-sensei sat there on the ground. Relieved that Sasuke was no longer pummeling him senseless, but confused by his reaction to the genjutsu. He would have expected Sasuke to have a similar reaction to what Len had. Laughing in his face and calling his bluff. But instead Sasuke allowed the illusion to be reality. Why?_

Kami help the poor fool who tries to go after his squad, _Iruka-sensei thought as he continued to sit there. Still shocked by what Sasuke had done in reaction to his test._

 **End of Flashback**

Len looked back and forth between the two of them before she closed her eyes and sighed. "Well, whatever his reason, it obviously didn't go the way Iruka-sensei had planned."

Naruto and Sasuke both nodded.

"Are you guys prepared for tomorrow?" Len asked as she looked at the two of them.

Sasuke gave her another nod.

"Of course I'm ready! Believe it!" Naruto practically shouted with excitement as he threw his fist in the air.

Len nodded. "Good. Tomorrow we start setting our plan in motion. Be on your guard."

"Can I laugh evilly?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Sasuke and Len responded with two deadpan stares of impressive deadpanness. "...Sure, why not?" Len sighed.

"Mwahahahaha!" Naruto cackled in an evil tone that his teammates–though they would never admit it–found extremely convincing.

* * *

Kakashi walked through the streets of Konoha with Len, that night. His hands in his pockets as he walked. Both him and his niece completely silent as they made their way back home. The night was quiet. Crickets chirping occasionally, breaking the silence, but otherwise no sound could be heard. It was a little chilly, but neither one of them seemed to be bothered by it. All in all, it was a rather nice night.

That is until Kakashi noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Kakashi closed his visible eye as he sighed. He stopped walking, making Len turn and look at him with confusion.

"Is something wrong, uncle?" Len inquired as she looked at him.

Kakashi opened his eye and looked back to his niece. "It's nothing you need to worry over, Len. I just remembered that I had a few extra things to do. So I'll meet up with you back at the house, later."

Len looked at her uncle for a long moment. She knew her uncle well, having lived with him for six years of her life. Part of her knew that he was lying. But considering Kakashi, himself, was an excellent liar when he wanted to be, she wasn't too sure if he really was lying or not. Deciding not to push the issue, Len nodded before she turned and continued on her way home. Shortly after, Kakashi shunshined over to the person following them. Grabbing the ANBU by the throat and slamming him against the trunk of the tree he had been hiding in. His single eye narrowed as he glared into the green eyes revealed through the lion mask.

Although, the moment he looked at the eyes of the ANBU before him, his rage dissolved as he looked at the shinobi before him in surprise. It wasn't that he recognized the mask that shocked him. It wasn't even the green eyes. It was the _smell_. The scent that came off of the shinobi now that he was so close to him and was absolutely no way it could be hidden from him. He knew that scent well.

With a quick motion, Kakashi released the ANBU from his chokehold and then swiftly removed the lion mask from the shinobi's face. He had grown out his silver hair. Now pulled back in a low ponytail. He was wearing a henge over his face to make his features be different, but there was no way he could mask his scent. It was a scent Kakashi was far too familiar with. And no matter how well the shinobi disguised themselves, there was nothing that they could really do in masking their scent. Sure odder-masking soap and shampoo would do the trick, but only for so long. And clearly, that was slowly going away.

"Animaru?" Kakashi asked in disbelief.

The man before him sighed heavily as he closed his eyes before a puff of smoke covered his face. Removing the henge from his face to return to his normal features. When his eyes opened, again, they were a brighter green. Almost piercing straight through to the soul of anyone who looked into them. Practically glowing in the dim light of the moon. His facial structure was less childlike, now. After all, it had been six years. By all rights, his face should be more rigid. He was twenty-one, now.

"Hello, uncle Kakashi," Animaru said. He had even disguised his voice. Kami, it had been _so long_ since Kakashi had heard his nephew's voice. "I–"

Animaru was unable to finish his sentence, because Kakashi punched him in the jaw. Animaru's eyes widened for a split second when Kakashi's fist had connected with his face, but just as quickly as the shock was there, it was gone, again. His gaze to the ground. His expression blank of any emotion. He deserved that. He knew he did. How could he not? After what he had done, he was lucky that his own uncle didn't kill him, already. He was, after all, now labelled as a traitor to the village for it. A missing nin to Konoha.

"Talk!" Kakashi ordered harshly. His enraged expression–from what little of his face that Animaru could see to be able to know that his uncle was furious with him–back in place. "And it better be good!"

"Are you sure?" Animaru inquired as he looked back into his uncle's visible onyx eye. "You probably won't like it."

"The Hokage wouldn't tell me much other than you had killed the clan and that you were now considered a traitor the moment it was morning," Kakashi informed him with a low, dangerous, calm in his voice. "Considering he gave you such a long time before sending ANBU after your sorry ass for your crime, there had to be a damn good reason, which he refused to tell me.

"You're lucky that I'm the one who is confronting you, first!" Kakashi continued. "If Len had noticed you–if she had _found out_ it was you–I highly doubt she would be as... _nice_ , as I am, right now! I have waited six years to get answers out of you! _Six_! You will start talking, and you will start talking, _now_!"

Animaru closed his eyes as he sighed heavily. "I know that you are angry for what I did. You have every right to be furious with me. As does Len, but please, do understand that not all is as it seemed. I had my reasons, and my cause was just."

Kakashi continued to glare at his nephew. "That is not good enough, Animaru!" He told him. "Do not think that you can give me that and walk away from this! You owe me answers!"

* * *

 **[Next Day]**

Len, Sasuke, and Naruto all made their way through the village to the academy. Sasuke was in his usual attire. His blue T-shirt and white shorts. Naruto was in something a little different. Wearing his full on jumpsuit instead of just his orange pants and black tank top. Much to the same manner as the one he wore in his academy days. Probably as a bit of nostalgia. Returning back to the academy, at least for the first half of the Chuunin Exams. His own reasoning quirk for such a thing. Len, however, was wearing something completely different.

She wore something that resembled a purple kimono, however the midsection seemed to be missing. In place of where the usual obi would go to keep the kimono closed were a whole bunch of belts that were black and maroon in color. Connecting the top half to the bottom. The skirt of the kimono coming to the center of her thigh with slits down either side to give her maneuverability. Her hitae-ate tied into place on her forehead, rather than wearing it around her neck like she normally would. She also wore purple fingerless gloves that went up to just past her elbow. With the usual open-toed sandals. Her shuriken holster on her right thigh. Her arms, legs, and torso–or at least what could be seen of them–were also bandaged.

"Nice outfit, Len!" Naruto complimented as he gave her a beaming smile.

Sasuke let out a faint grunt. His tacit approval of its functionality serving as his own version of something approaching a compliment.

Len gave Naruto a smile. "Thanks, Naruto," she said. "I'm glad you like it."

"Although, I do have to ask...what's with all the bandages?" Naruto asked as they all walked into the academy. Cocking an eyebrow as he looked at her. "Did you train too much or something?"

Len shook her head. "No," she answered. "They're mostly to keep the opponent guessing. You'll see when the exams start."

Sasuke arched an eyebrow as he looked at her with confusion. "How so?"

"As I said, you'll see," Len repeated. "I'm not going to say it when we have potential ears listening in. So you'll have to be just as surprised as the rest of them."

They all fell silent when they reached the small crowd of gennin in front of two other gennin blocking a door labelled "301". As they watched two particular gennin–one wearing a green spandex suit with orange leg warmers and bandaged arms, and a girl wearing her dark hair in two buns–getting knocked around by the ones blocking the door. Naruto cocking an eyebrow as he leaned close to Len.

"Isn't this the second floor?" Naruto whispered to his blonde friend so no one else would hear.

Len faintly nodded.

"Please, just let us through," the female gennin ordered before walking towards the doors. Only to get hit by one of the guarding gennin and falling back on her butt.

"Please?" One of the guarding gennin repeated. "And you call yourself a shinobi? These exams are ruthless."

"People have gone crazy or have died," the other guarding gennin continued. "We have personally failed three times because of how tough these exams are and you can't even get past us! So really, we're doing this out of kindness."

Len rolled her eyes before she turned her attention back to Naruto and Sasuke. "We really should just leave them," she mumbled. "If they're stupid to fall for this kind of genjutsu, then they clearly shouldn't be in the exams."

Sasuke simply nodded as Naruto replied, "Seriously. This is a joke."

Sasuke just couldn't resist. "Of course it is. You noticed it, right?" he quipped so smoothly that neither Naruto nor Len noticed it for a few seconds.

"Why you–" Naruto started as the three of them turned and began walking away.

At the sound of Naruto's outburst the two gennin guarding the door turned their attention to Squad Seven. "Hey! Where are you going?" The one on the left called.

"This is where the chuunin exams are going to be held," the one on the right added. "Shouldn't you be trying to get in?"

Naruto, Len, and Sasuke stopped and turned their attention back to the crowd.

"If we were here for the exam, certainly," Len informed them. "But since we are not, the attempt would be pointless… unless of course I was trying to challenge my Uncle's reputation for lateness, sure. But since I'm not I'd rather just get to our appointment on time."

The one on the right smirked as he looked at the three of them. Obviously seeing through her words. "Then by all means, don't let us stop you."

Len nodded before she continued down the hall. Sasuke and Naruto following after her silently for a moment.

"Halt!"

A flash of green stopped them all as they rounded the corner. The boy in green they had seen with bruises before was suddenly standing before them. The bruises gone and his eyes filled with determination as he stared at Sasuke. As Squad Seven looked at the boy before them, they all made the mental note that this boy was fast.

"What is your name?" The boy asked as he continued to stare at Sasuke.

"Isn't it customary to introduce yourself before asking someone their name?" Sasuke shot back. Appearing annoyed with the stranger.

"My name is Rock Lee," the stranger informed him. "Now, your name?"

 _Rock Lee…_ Len trailed off in her thoughts. _Isn't he apart of Squad Nine? Then that means Huuga Neji and Tenten can't be too far behind…_

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"I will make this simple," Rock Lee began as he looked at Sasuke. "I challenge you. Right here and now."

"As tempting as it sounds to beat you senseless," Sasuke replied, "shouldn't we wait for the actual exams to fight? Why reveal your skills before the exam even starts to someone who would also be participating? That gives your opponent an upper hand in knowledge about you and your fighting style. You've already revealed how fast you are to us." He gave Rock Lee a coy smirk. "Can you really afford to reveal more?"

Len quickly shot Sasuke a look as she stood beside him. Just because this shinobi revealed that he was fast didn't necessarily mean he showed _just how fast_ he was. Jumping to such a conclusion–though reasonable, in a way–was not wise.

"Yosh!" Lee cried, pumping a fist excitedly. "What an insightful observation! Truly you are worthy of your ancestors' reputation!"

"He's going to be insufferable after this," Naruto muttered to Len as he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Len just blinked back. When did Naruto learn what "insufferable" meant? She had thought he was joking but… maybe he really was reading that dictionary?

"But now I really must fight you, Uchiha Sasuke! I must prove myself! I must–" whatever else it was that Lee must do, Squad Seven would never know as, at that moment, an enormous mallet came flying out of a side door and smacked him in the head.

"Lee, you _idiot_!" It was the girl that had been at the second floor with Lee earlier, sans bruises and now sporting a rather terrifying scowl. "You spout about keeping a low profile and actually sound smart for the first time in months and not an hour later you challenge some rookie to a duel! What are you a damn samurai!?" she raged as she grabbed the stunned boy by his collar and dragged him off.

For a long moment Squad Seven stared after the retreating pair in utter confusion, unable to process what exactly they had just seen.

"Well that was… odd," Len finally concluded.

"Hn," Sasuke replied.

"You said it, asshole," Naruto agreed.

* * *

A/N: No. This does not mean that I am back completely. I do have a lot more free time, now, so I'll possibly be able to update more frequently than...well, the months worth of waiting you all had to deal with between last chapter and this one. However, please do remember that I am still pregnant. I'm just entering my third trimester. So I have to treat this as a hobby, rather than a means to making a living. (This can technically change...if you are willing to tip for my fanfictions. But until then, I have to do this.)

Sending me reviews that say, "Update soon!" are not going to make me update any faster, even though I do still expect to get them. Please keep this in mind when you are submitting your reviews. Your reviews would be put to better use pointing out grammar mistakes or really ANYTHING else.

As always, thank you for your continued support, and I hope you like the chapter.

Like my story? Please support my writing by becoming my patron at . com. Type in " . com." Then add "/ elderxchildx6" to the end of it and it should take you directly to my page. (Be sure to remove the spacing between everything so that way you can actually get to my account.)


	14. Chapter 13: The Written Test

**Team Tragedy**

 **A Naruto Fanfiction**

 **Author: ElderxChildx6 Co-Author/Editor: EDelta88**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. All rights reserved.**

 **Team Tragedy (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

 **Len Hatake (c) Me (ElderxChildx6)**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: The Written Test**

When Squad Seven entered room 301 for the exam, everyone turned their gaze to look at the three rookies that had shown up. Most of them appearing annoyed or even angry of their arrival. It made no sense...at least at first. When Squad Seven had entered the room, they had been quiet. They didn't make a sound. Other than walking in, they didn't even attempt to draw attention to themselves. What was their problem?

"SASUKE-KUN~!" Ino shouted excitedly as she glomped Sasuke from behind. Earning an annoyed glare from Sasuke as Len snickered at his predicament. "I've missed you so much~! I hope Hatake hasn't been bothering you! You better let me know if she does!"

"I think the only one bothering him, so far, is you, Ino," Shikamaru chimed in as he and Choji entered the room. Causing the rookies to turn their heads to look at them.

"Hey, Shikamaru, Choji!" Naruto greeted as he smirked. "Ready to get beat in the exams?"

Shikamaru closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "Troublesome," he muttered.

"Naruto, be nice to the others who are taking the exams," another female voice cut in. Making everyone look to see Squad Eight entering the room. Hinata smiling politely as she looked at everyone. "None of us know who will pass or fail."

Naruto reached up and scratched the back of his head as he beamed her an apologetic smile. "You're right," he agreed.

"Yeah!" Kiba began with an overconfident smirk. "Because we're totally going to win! We've been training hard, and Hinata has become a _beast_! There's no way we'll lose!"

Hinata glared at Kiba before she brought her hand up and smacked Kiba on the back of his head hard enough to make Kiba's head tilt forward.

"What did I just say to Naruto, Kiba?" Hinata asked him sternly. Giving her teammate a scowl of disapproval.

"That none of us know who'll win," Kiba said in a soft, whiny tone as he rubbed the back of his head. His expression resembling a kicked puppy.

" _And_?" Hinata inquired. Crossing her arms as she continued glaring at him.

"To be nice…" Kiba trailed off.

Hinata gave him an approving smile. "Good."

Len blinked as she looked at Hinata. Then proceeded to rub her eyes before she looked back at the young Hyuuga, again. _Since when did Hyuuga Hinata stop being so shy and timid?_ She wondered as she looked at her old classmate with confusion. Seriously, almost anyone who had spent time with her back in the academy could have seen the difference. Hinata held herself taller. Not in the means of she had grown or anything. Her confidence had seemed to be more pronounced. She would flinch, fidget, and stutter whenever _anyone_ had even said "hello" to the girl back when she was in the academy. Now, she was speaking first. Talking to _Naruto_...even _scolding her own teammates_! When could that have possibly happened?

"Glad to see you have made it to the exams, Len," Kiba said with a smirk as he stepped closer to her. "I'm sure you'll beat this exam and make it to Chuunin."

Akamaru let out a bark in agreement before he jumped off of Kiba's head towards Len. Which she caught and began petting him. "Nice to see you, too, Akamaru," Len said with a soft chuckle.

Kiba's eye twitched. "Hey, are you trying to steal my pal from me?"

Len rolled her eyes before she looked back at Kiba. "You and I both know that will never happen. Akamaru is your partner, remember? He chose you. Nothing I do will ever make him change his decision on that."

"Then where's my hug?" Kiba demanded as he held his arms out to her. Which earned him another eye roll from the platinum blonde before she stepped closer to him. Akamaru jumped back up onto Kiba's shoulder before Kiba wrapped his arms around Len and gave her a huge bear hug. Len felt like her ribs were about to crack with how tight he was hugging her, but after a few minutes, he released her and she stepped back.

Sasuke watched the two as they interacted. His expression remaining blank of any emotion, However there was a glint of something in his eye. A very brief spark. No one had seemed to notice.

"You know, you guys should be more quiet," a male voice that none of the rookies recognized chimed in. Making them all turn their attention toward the man in question. He had long ash grey hair which he wore in a low ponytail. Round glasses, and the Konoha hitae-ate on his forehead. "This isn't exactly a field trip, you know. You guys are acting like a bunch of school kids."

Len looked at this new addition to their group for a moment. Giving him a once over. All and all, he seemed harmless.

" _Hey, kid,"_ a rather harmless sounding male voice said in Len's mind. " _I was wondering if you could help me? I lost my puppy."_

…

 _Nope,_ Len thought as she looked at the stranger before her. _Don't trust him._

She turned her attention to Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto was looking at the stranger before them with a suspicious glare. Sasuke seemed suspicious, as well. When they both looked to their female teammate, they both gave her a curt nod. Indicating that they picked up on it, as well.

No shinobi was harmless… _None of them._

"Who do you think you are?!" Ino growled as she glared at the stranger before all of them.

"I am Yakushi Kabuto," the stranger introduced.

* * *

Animaru quickly rushed through the village. Carefully concealed by both his henge and the lion's mask. Specifically looking for Kakashi. He had a good idea where his uncle was. The cenotaph in Training Ground Three. Kakashi always went there whenever he had the time to himself to do so. So if he was anywhere, that was more than likely where he would be.

Once Animaru made it to the training grounds in question, sure enough, there Kakashi was. Standing in front of the memorial stone. His hands in his pockets. His single onyx eye staring at two names in particular that were carved onto it. Animaru joined his uncle.

"We have a problem," Animaru proceeded to tell him.

"And what would that be?" Kakashi inquired.

"Yakushi Kabuto, former member of ROOT and traitor to Konoha, is participating in the Chuunin Exams," Animaru informed him.

Kakashi's eye widened as he turned to his nephew. "Are you sure?"

"I'm more than sure," Animaru said in a serious tone. "Danzo helped me because I wasn't actually a traitor to Konoha, remember? I've been apart of ROOT since that night, six years ago. I've read the file that concerns Kabuto. In fact, the only reason I'm not going to Danzo about this is because the ROOT report on Yakushi Kabuto states that Danzo had him killed when Kabuto was still gennin rank. How a gennin can still be alive leaves me to question Danzo…"

Kakashi rolled his eye at his nephew. "I could've told you that one," he said in dry sarcasm. "Oh, wait...I did." he glared over at Animaru.

"In any case, the proctors and higher ups need to be informed," Animaru stated. "I'm going back to keep an eye on Len." With that, he turned and began to leave the training grounds.

"You do realize that once she enters the second stage of the exam...you won't be able to follow her to protect her until she passes the said second stage, right?" Kakashi asked as he watched his nephew.

Animaru paused for a moment. His back still facing his uncle. "...I am aware." He then proceeded to shunshin out of Kakashi's sight. After a moment of Kakashi staring at where his nephew had been standing, he closed his eye as he sighed heavily.

"Well, I better report to the Hokage about this…" he mumbled to himself.

* * *

"Let's see...his full name is Sabaku no Gaara," Kabuto began as he looked at his ninja info card about the individual in question that Sasuke had asked him to look up. "He's in one of ten teams from Sunagakure participating in the exams this year. Mission experience, eight C-Rank missions and… woah! One B-Rank mission as gennin! He's taking the exam for the first time, so that's really all I have on him. However, it seems that he has returned from all of his missions unharmed."

Len looked over to Sasuke and Naruto, who in turn looked back at her. All of them sharing the same thought…

 _How in the world could he access mission and medical records of a foreign ninja who was taking the exam for the first time?_

Len certainly did not feel comfortable about this situation, at all. If this guy knew that much about a foreigner taking the exam for the first time, what did he have on her or her team? This situation seemed even more bleak. She needed to find a way to destroy those info cards. In the wrong hands, those cards were dangerous. And she certainly did not trust Kabuto with information on _her_.

"Well, thanks for the help, Yakushi," Len said with a fake smile. "And good luck with the exams."

"Thanks," Kabuto said with a smile of his own. "I have high hopes for this year."

After a few minutes, Kabuto's smile suddenly disappears. He quickly dodges two kunai that stick into the floor where he had been standing. The moment Kabuto avoided the attack, a gennin with bandages mostly covering his head and wearing a straw raincoat appeared behind Kabuto and swung his metal arm at him.

Len noticed the music note-like symbol on the gennin's hitae-ate. Which meant that the gennin was from Oto. A hidden village that had recently been established in Rice Country.

Kabuto dodged the gennin's attack much quicker than his previous display in speed let on. He smiled triumphantly to himself for a split second before his smile vanished and his glasses shattered. Followed shortly by him falling to his knees and proceeding to throw up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Naruto practically shouted. "He totally dodged that!"

"Naruto," Len mumbled. "Calm down. I'll explain it later, since you clearly missed it."

"For a veteran shinobi who's taken this exam four times, I thought you'd be more of a challenge," the one with the metal arm said. Appearing mildly amused.

 _And shouldn't you have been smart to not show off like that before the exams even start?_ Sasuke and Len both thought as they stared at the Oto shinobi with the metal arm. _Did he seriously think most wouldn't pick up on that?_

"Write this down in your stupid cards: 'Otogakure shinobi: definitely chuunin'," the Oto nin with spiky hair ordered arrogantly.

Sasuke glanced at the boy's hands and noticed a whole in his palm. Possibly an opening to a tube? Sasuke nudged Len to get her attention before he nodded his head in the other Oto nin's direction. Len looked at the spiky-haired boy and noticed the same thing Sasuke did. Noting the openings in the boy's palms.

Suddenly, a cloud of smoke erupted in the room. Startling many of the ninja in different ways. Some screamed. Most, however, pulled out their weapons for an attack. Squads Seven and Eight in particular took a defensive stance. Their hands on their shuriken holsters, ready to strike if needed.

"Quiet down! You worthless bastards!" a voice shouted from within the cloud. When the smoke dissipated, a tall man wearing a long black cloak and a bandana-style hitae-ate stood at point with several chuunin standing behind him. Naruto, Sasuke, and Len noticing two of the chuunin standing behind the taller man looked strikingly similar to the two gennin they had spotted weeding out the gennin that couldn't even see through the genjutsu they had used.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," the tall man began. "I am the proctor of the first test to the Chuunin Selection Exams, Morino Ibiki."

Len smirked as she looked at Ibiki.

* * *

"Turn in your applications, take a number tag and sit where that number tells you," Ibiki explained. "Once everyone is sitting at their designated spot, we will pass out the papers for the written exam."

Naruto turned his head to look at Len from over his shoulder. Len's navy gaze met Naruto's and she simply nodded once. Naruto nodded in return and then faced forward, again. Waiting for his turn to have his application taken. Len looks over her shoulder at Sasuke, who gives her the same look Naruto as the raven-haired boy looked back at her.

Again, Len simply nodded. A sense of understanding washed over Sasuke before he gave her a nod in return. They both looked back to Ibiki.

Once they had gotten their numbers, they each took their respected places where their numbers matched where they'd sit. Naruto was sitting next to Hinata in the front row. Sasuke was sitting in the third row closer to the right end of the row. One unknown ninja from Kusa to his left. Sasuke couldn't help but glare at who was to his right. After all, Axl was visibly shaking in terror over the fact that he was seated next to Sasuke for the written exam. Len was sitting in the sixth row more in the middle. Kiba sitting to her right and an unknown ninja from Taki to her left.

As soon as all the gennin were seated, Ibiki clicked a piece of chalk against the chalkboard to get everyone's attention. He then went on to explain the rules of the test. Each squad had ten points to start. There were ten questions and each one was worth one point. If a question was missed, one point would be subtracted. The tests were also done as a team. Whether the squads passed or not was determined by the overall score of the squad.

Of course, protests sounded, but Ibiki immediately shut them up before continuing. The last rule was that if anyone was caught cheating, two points would be deducted from that person's score for every attempt that was noticed. And if anyone in their squad gets a zero, the entire squad will get zero and will be asked to leave and try their luck again, next time the Chuunin Selection Exams are held. The last question would be given forty-five minutes after the test began.

Len smirked again, as she leaned back in her chair. Her arms folded against her chest. Naruto and Sasuke also smirked while listening to Ibiki.

Len had guessed right. The first part of the exam was the gennin being tested on information gathering and how well it could be done without being noticed.

When Ibiki told them to start, everyone flipped their tests over and immediately began working. Len studied the test that was sitting in front of her. They were being tested on information gathering, however some of these questions she could accomplish on her own, without resorting to cheating. Working the math of the point system in her head, she deduced that the questions she already knew the answers to were enough to keep her team from being disqualified. Deciding that this was the best approach, Len began working on the questions she knew. The first question she knew was deciphering a cryptogram.

As soon as she was done deciphering the cryptogram, Len began answering her remaining questions using the code from that said question so no one could cheat off of her.

Sasuke used his Sharingan and began copying down the answers he saw from a gennin a few seats down. Assuming he was actually a chuunin in disguise since he seemed to know the answer to _every_ question. Much to the same manner as Len, Sasuke also wrote his answers in the code from the cryptogram question. He certainly wasn't going to give Axl the upper hand and cheat off of him. Oh no. He had something... _special_ planned for the boy, Sure, what he had planned Sasuke needed to have Axl pass the written test, first, but he wasn't going to be the one that allowed Axl advance to the next stage of the exam.

Naruto looked over the questions of the exam before he flashed a toothy grin and looked up at Ibiki, which in turn caused Ibiki to stare at the boy intimidatingly. Naruto recognized the questions on the test, meaning he already knew the answers. They were copied from the _1,001 Pieces of Ridiculous Trivia You will Never need to Know_. Ibiki got these questions straight from that book, so Naruto already knew the answers. Naruto gave Ibiki a thumbs-up, which caused Ibiki to look at him with puzzlement before the blond boy looked back to his test and happily began writing down the answers.

Hinata used her Byakugan during the exam. Able to see everyone's tests, she noticed that Naruto wasn't cheating off of anyone. She smirked as she honed in on Naruto's test. Copying down the exact coded script he was writing.

 _And they all thought Naruto was dumb,_ Hinata thought as she copied his answers.

As the test went on, several people got called out and were asked to leave. Some having to practically be dragged out either due to them protesting the entire time or because of mysterious laughing fits that prevented them from walking out, on their own. Those that remained were smart about their cheating methods. To Sasuke's surprise, Axl - and respectively his team - managed to not get themselves disqualified.

Once Len had finished all of the questions she could answer, herself, she put down a note in code for Ibiki's eyes, only.

 _Ibiki-sensei, there is a Konoha gennin named Yakushi Kabuto with more information than he should have for the exam. You should look into it._

Once she finished her message, She flipped her test over so no one could read it and attempt to decipher not only her answers, but her message to Ibiki, as well.

A few more people get shuriken thrown at their tests and their teams disqualified. Close to the end of the first forty-five minutes, Kankuro raises his hand.

"What?" A chuunin asked.

"Bathroom," Kankuro replied sheepishly as he rose to his feet. The chuunin in question meets Kankuro at the end of the row he was sitting at and proceeds to cuff him before escorting him out of the exam room.

Len had to credit the boy. He certainly wasn't stupid. No way Ibiki didn't notice how lifeless that chuunin's eyes were, however. She was going to laugh when he came back from the bathroom.

And right on que, at the forty-five minute mark, Ibiki shouted, "Okay! I will now give the tenth question!

"But before that, there is one thing I must say… there will be a special rule for the tenth question," Ibiki added in an ominous tone and gave everyone a dark look that made almost everyone in the room cringe.

The tension in the room was broken, however, when the door to the exam room screeched open and Kankuro returned with his puppet. Len smirked as Ibiki's intense gaze shifted to Kankuro. Which seemed to make the Suna nin in question practically freeze in his tracks.

"You're lucky," Ibiki told him in a dark chuckle. "Your little puppet show didn't go to waste."

Kankuro visibly paled. Len brought her fist in front of her mouth as she chuckled softly in amusement. Seeing the Suna nin practically piss himself at Ibiki seeing through his trick was just too amusing.

"Oh well… Sit down," Ibiki ordered harshly.

Kankuro quickly complied and returned to his seat.

"I will now explain...these are the rules of desperation." Ibiki let out a subtle burst of killing intent. "First, you must decide whether to take this question or not."

"Choose? What happens if we choose not to?" Temari demanded.

Ibiki let out another ominous chuckle before answering. "If you do that, your points will be reduced to zero and you will fail along with your teammates."

Hearing a rather loud _Thud!_ off behind her, Len looked over her shoulder to see Shikamaru directly behind her with his head on the desk. Putting two and two together, Len smirked. Shikamaru was disappointed to find out that he technically could have passed simply by taking a nap and not writing down a single answer.

Several gennin shouted at Ibiki, then. "What does that mean?! Of course we'll take the final question, then!"

"And now for the other rule…" Ibiki went on. "If you choose to take the last question and answer incorrectly, you will be banned from ever taking the Chuunin Exam, again."

"What kind of rule is that?!" Kiba shouted as he stood up. "There are people here who have taken the exam before!" Akamaru barked angrily on Kiba's shoulder.

Ibiki laughed malevolently. "You're unlucky," he told the Beast Tamer. "For this exam, I make the rules. But you have a way out. You can just choose not to take the risk and try again next year." He surveyed the room with a dark look. "Now, raise your hand if you do not wish to continue."

Len, Naruto, and Sasuke watch as teams start eliminating themselves. Several of these said teams being from other countries. Sasuke shook his head as he watched the foreign squads leave. Didn't they know that Ibiki from Konoha didn't have the authority to ban them from taking the exam?

Naruto put his hands together behind his head as he leaned back in his seat. Smirking as he looked up at Ibiki. Causing their proctor to look down at the blond boy in question.

After a few minutes of staring, Ibiki gives Naruto a faint smirk before it's suddenly gone again and he looks at the rest of the room. "For everyone still remaining…" he trailed off once all the squads that had given up were no longer in the room.

The entire room goes scarily quiet. Anyone could have heard a pin drop as they anxiously waited for the final question… Well, everyone except for Naruto waited anxiously. His confidence practically radiated off of the boy.

"...Congratulations on passing the first test." Ibiki grinned at everyone. Taking in everyone's dumbfounded expressions.

"Wait, what?" a gennin asked. "What about the tenth question."

"You deciding to stay was the answer to the tenth question," Ibiki told the gennin.

"So then, were the other nine questions just a waste of time?" Temari shouted.

"Oh, no. The other nine held a purpose," Ibiki began as he looked out the window for a few moments. He then looked back to the entire class as they patiently waited for him to explain. "They were to test your ability to surreptitiously gather strategic intelligence under the most adverse circumstances."

"Oh, well that clears up everything," Temari said sarcastically.

Ibiki went on to explain that his objective was to test them not only as individuals, but as a team. How well they functioned as a team was part of that testing. The questions were designed to be difficult, too difficult for the average gennin to answer on their own. As such, chuunin disguised as gennin were placed to give the actual participants of the exam someone to cheat from.

"Information…" Ibiki trailed off as he removed the bandana from his head to reveal the ugly scars that were underneath. The scar on the left side of his face seemed to originate from the ones on his head. "It can be the most valuable weapon in battle. How well you gather intelligence can determine whether a mission's a failure or a success. There will be times you'll have to risk your life to get it."

"Man, what a mess," Sasuke said as he looked at Ibiki's scars, puncture wounds...burn marks. They were reminence of being tortured for whatever information he had. One day, anyone or everyone in this room would get them, somewhere... _anywhere_ on their body. It was only a matter of "when".

"Of course you must weigh your source of information," Ibiki went on as he returned the bandana to his head to once again hide the majority of his scarring. "Information gathered from an enemy is not necessarily accurate… Always bear this in mind."

"Okay...but that still doesn't explain the purpose of the tenth question," a gennin with red hair - the Kusa nin that was sitting next to Sasuke - stated.

Ibiki smirked. "It doesn't?" he inquired. "It was the main point of the whole exam. Surely you see that."

"Sure," Len remarked with a smirk. "But apparently, you need to explain it, anyway. Since the rest of the room seems to be confused."

"As I said before, the goal was to test you not only as individuals but as part of a squad." Ibiki answered. "The final question gave you two choices, both difficult. You could choose to play it safe and skip the question, though it meant that both you and your fellow squad members would be failed. Or you could try and answer it, knowing if you got it wrong, you would lose your chance of ever being Chuunin. It was a no-win situation. But just the sort Chuunin have to face almost every day.

"For example," Ibiki went on, "let me give you a hypothetical mission. To steal a document from an enemy stronghold. You have no idea how many shinobi the enemy has, or how heavily armed they are. Furthermore, you have reason to believe that the enemy expects you, that you might very well be walking blindly into a trap. Now, do you have the option of taking a pass on this insane mission or say, 'My comrades and I would rather live to fight another day?' Can you choose to avoid danger?"

Ibiki paused for a moment to let the hypothetical situation sink in. After a moment, Len spoke up. "No. There will be several missions that will seem almost suicidal, but we are shinobi. We need to think only about the goal, and of achieving it through courage and discipline."

Ibiki smiled at Len and nodded. "These are the qualities required of a Chuunin squad leader. Those who choose the safer of two paths, those whose determination falters in the face of adversity, those who would put their comrades lives in jeopardy by worrying about their own, those who would save their own necks at the price of sacred honor will never be able to call themselves Chuunin at least as long as I'm here.

"As for the rest of you," Ibiki continued, "you have successfully answered the ten questions I put to you. You have earned the right to continue on to the next step."

Just then, Ibiki shifts his gaze to the window with his eyes narrowed. A few seconds later, something crashes through the window with the force of a small bomb. Making all the excited gennin that had passed the first part of the exam jump and quickly take their battle stances. Kunai bury themselves into the ceiling to reveal…

...A banner?

"Heads up, boys and girls," A woman said sarcastically. She had spiky purple hair and was wearing a tan trench coat. Under the trench coat was what appeared to be a full body suit of chainmail that left _nothing_ to the imagination. "This is no time to be celebrating. I'm your next proctor, Mitarashi Anko."

 _No...really?_ Sasuke thought sarcastically. _I would never have guessed. The banner behind you clearly doesn't say your name or the fact that you're the proctor for the second part of the exam. Nope. Not at all._

Len's eyes narrowed as she looked at Anko. She knew Anko fairly well. Much like Ibiki. However, unlike Ibiki where her uncle had told her about him, Anko would frequently visit Kakashi. So she knew from personal experience just how Anko's mind worked.

 _This...might get a little difficult,_ Len thought as she looked at Anko.

* * *

[OMAKE]

 **Flashback**

 ** _-Shortly After the Rookie Gennin had Left for their Exams-_**

 _Kakashi looked to Kurenai. "So...what have you done to The Little Hyuuga?" he asked the Jounin leader of Squad Eight. Sitting with her and Asuma at a small seating area. One that conveniently had an ash tray for Asuma to flick his cigarette ash into whenever he so needed._

 _Kurenai blinked as she looked at the silver-haired jounin in question. "What do you mean?" she shot back._

 _"My niece told me all about how The Little Hyuuga was like during the academy," Kakashi informed her. "That girl was too shy to say one word to anyone. And now she suddenly has all the confidence in the world and doesn't even seem to flinch when someone so much as looks at her. What did you do?"_

 _Kurenai gave Kakashi a sinister smirk. "The beautiful thing is...I've done absolutely nothing."_

 _And for once, Kakashi was confronted by the strange, rare sensation of not knowing what was going on._

 **End of Flashback**

* * *

A/N: Hello, everyone! Been a while! Suffice it to say, I am no longer pregnant. I now have a beautiful baby girl. I have since moved out of the place I was staying and have moved into an apartment with my boyfriend. We're still job hunting, so things are still a bit chaotic and thus updates will still be very few and far between. I have a daughter to think about and I need money coming in so that I can take care of her. So please be patient. At any rate, I hope you enjoy the chapter.^^ And have a wonderful day.

Also, due to the fact that my boyfriend and I feel that there is something missing to this story - as well as grammar errors that I really don't feel like going back and fixing since I'm already so far into this story - we are actually going to be doing a revamp to Team Tragedy. Not saying that this story is bad or anything. In fact you'll probably be seeing some of these same chapters in the revamp simply because they _are_ good chapters. We just feel the story is lacking something and so we are going to rework it from the ground up. Fixing as we go along. I don't know when we will be starting this initial revamp, but please be aware that this is going to happen, soon. I will probably do one more chapter update to notify ALL followers that the revamp will be underway and then this version will no longer be updated. Thank you, and hopefully you all continue to follow Team Tragedy.^^

Updated On: 9/2/16

Unfortunately, FF has stopped me from announcing a way you can tip me to help me out so that I can update faster and more frequently. So if you would like to know how you can help by becoming my patron, please email me at elderxchildx6 . I will email you the link so that you can become my patron. Thank you.


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